


Back to the Beginning

by SouthForWinter



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-27 04:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 49,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6270400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SouthForWinter/pseuds/SouthForWinter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shortly after casting the curse, Regina ventures out of Storybrooke and isn't prepared for what awaits across the border. Fast forward almost twenty-eight years and her past has finally caught up to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to New York

**Author's Note:**

> I'll start publishing a chapter a day, but this one isn't finished yet, so later on down the road it'll be a waiting game. My one and only Thief Queen, and one of my favorite stories.

-New York 1985-

Regina stood at the entrance to the train station staring around in wonder. Everything was so big! She'd never imagined a city could look like this. It was tall, loud, and full of people. The only direction to look if she wanted to see open space was up, and even then, buildings took up some of her view.

She'd grown bored with Storybrooke. It was a nice town, but the everyday routines were exactly the same and she found it tiring. She needed a break. One benefit to having been the caster of the curse was that she was free to leave. No negative side effects followed her when she crossed the town line.

Now that she was here, she was rethinking her trip. At first it had seemed like a good idea; something new, something different. Now she felt overwhelmed. As Queen, she'd grown used to crowds; villagers, people in her court, maids, guards. But this was different. None of that came even close to comparing with this. There were people everywhere.

Pulling out the map she'd purchased, Regina searched the full page for her destination, a hotel about fourteen blocks away. But how did she get there? After several months, Regina was still adjusting to the ways of this world. They were strange and completely foreign. Her minimal experience in Storybrooke meant nothing here in New York.

"You look like you could use some help."

Regina turned to find the source of the voice. The man was standing only a few feet away, watching her. She raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, first of all - you're holding a map, so you must not be from the city. Then there's the expression of confused panic you were wearing a minute ago."

"I was not," she said hotly, folding the map up quickly.

"Hey, it's fine," the man said, holding his hands up. "I'm not judging you. New York is a whole different world. It can take some getting used to."

"And do all of the people in New York make a habit of harassing strangers?" she asked with irritation.

"Mostly they keep their heads down. Actually, people would tell you to avoid the ones who talk to you. "

"Mmm," Regina hummed. "But I should make an exception for you?"

"Me?" The man grinned. "I'm harmless. Just a man who saw a gorgeous woman that looked like she could use some help. I normally don't talk to strangers either, but with you, I had to. I couldn't help myself."

"Am I supposed to be flattered by that?" she asked him.

"Yes. You should be. I don't compliment just anyone. In fact, I don't _talk_ to just anyone."

"You're not helping your case," she told him.

He shrugged his shoulders casually. "So…business or pleasure?"

Regina looked appalled by his continued attempt at conversation. Had he mistaken her flippancy for interest? "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Why are you in New York? Is it for business or for pleasure?"

"Neither," Regina answered shortly.

"How can it be neither?" the man asked curiously. "It's either one or the other."

"Not necessarily." Regina sighed in frustration. She turned to face him more fully, realizing escape from this conversation wouldn't be easy. "I'm not here on business, but I'm not expecting to enjoy myself. I simply needed a change of scenery."

"Glad it's not just me."

Regina tilted her head in question, annoyance plain on her face. "I thought you said you lived here?"

"I do. I meant you. I'm glad to know you're that cynical about everything. It's not just me who brings it out. It means there's still hope for me."

She rolled her eyes and huffed. "I wouldn't bet on it."

He simply grinned at her again, not moving or blinking, and Regina – not for the first time – found herself irritated by the people in this world. Without her position as Queen, she held no power over them and, where most people would flee from just simple eye contact, it seemed people here were used to verbal sparring. In fact, they seemed to take pleasure in it. She'd have to find a new method of scaring people off. Realizing she was currently stuck, she sighed again. "I suppose, since you refuse to leave me alone, that you may as well help me. I need a way to get to my hotel."

The man's smile brightened and he clapped his hands together. "That's the spirit!" He stuck his hand out. "I'm Neal."

Regina warily put her hand in his and was surprised when he turned it gently, placing a quick peck to the back of her hand. It was an unexpectedly familiar and civil motion from such a gruff man and she found that some of the edge had disappeared from her voice when she said, "Regina."

* * *

-New York 2013-

"So…" Emma said awkwardly as they waited for Henry to finish gathering his things. They'd decided to spend a few days in the city before trying to get Neal to follow them back to Storybrooke. "New York?"

"Yeah."

"What made you choose New York?"

"Familiarity."

Emma raised her eyebrows. Neal had just spent the better part of an hour trying to get her to talk, but he had suddenly clammed up himself. "Care to elaborate?" she asked.

"It was a place I'd lived before. Why does it matter?" He hadn't meant to snap and when Emma's expression became angry and she opened her mouth to retaliate, he was quick to apologize. "I'm sorry. I just…maybe this is something we can talk about later?"

Anger only slightly faded, Emma once again opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted – this time by Henry's reappearance, Gold close behind him.

"Okay. I think I have everything."

Masking everything else, Emma shook her head in amusement. "We've only been here a day – how do you have that much stuff, anyway?"

"I didn't know what we'd be doing," Henry defended. "I wanted to be prepared."

Emma chuckled. "Well you're prepared alright. You ready to go, then?"

Henry nodded enthusiastically. "I've never been to a zoo before."

Neal looked at Emma incredulously before turning back to Henry. "Never been to…kid! You're gonna love it! How have you never been to a zoo before?"

"There isn't a zoo in Storybrooke," Henry told him.

Neal shook his head. "It's an injustice! Okay, let's go."

Henry bounced happily out of the apartment. Emma caught Neal's eye. "We're not done, you know."

"I know," he sighed. He locked up the apartment behind them and started down the stairs. It shouldn't have been such a big deal. It was just a city – why should it matter if Emma wanted to know why he chose this place? But as he looked around when they stepped out onto the street, he knew why it mattered to him. It was a place he didn't want to share. In all of his travels, he always ended up back here. If things with Emma had worked out and they'd run away together, he would have taken her to Tallahassee just as they'd talked about. With someone else, it could never be New York. New York was _their_ place. It's where he'd met Regina and they'd shared something special. He'd chosen New York because, even if it was small and desperate, it was a connection; an anchor is his messy life, and he found he couldn't let it go.


	2. Dinner

-New York 1985-

Neal handed the cabbie the money and held the door open for Regina as she slid out. The cab ride had been a harrowing experience for her and Neal had noticed her white-knuckled grip on the door handle the entire ride. He'd made sure not to comment as he'd gotten the impression Regina was a person who liked to be viewed as in complete control. He wondered where she was from – even for a person from a small town, she seemed more on edge than the average tourist.

He held his hand out to help her up – why any woman would choose to wear heels that high was beyond him – and she took it as if it were something she were accustomed to. Although with a woman as beautiful as she was, he supposed it was very probable that there was always someone there to give her a hand.

She may be gorgeous, but however far her looks got her was inhibited by her lack of graciousness. She didn't thank him for his help and once she was out of the car, she stepped onto the sidewalk and stood there, staring at him pointedly. Neal shook his head and pulled her luggage from the trunk. "Here you are, your Majesty," he said mockingly and was surprised when she looked alarmed. "What?" he asked. "What did I say? Are you okay?"

Regina shook herself clear of the reaction. Of course; he was only making a sarcastic joke at her expense. He'd never have a way of knowing who she truly was.

It had still startled her and when she answered, she cursed herself when her voice sounded a little shaky. "It's nothing – I'm fine."

Neal looked at her. "Hey, look – I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say anything to upset you." He wondered what had made her react that way? Perhaps people had too often commented on her behavior and she somehow took it more personally than most? Whatever it was, he was immediately regretting the comment.

"I told you – I'm fine." The cab pulled away and Regina glanced over her shoulder at the large hotel. "Thank you for helping me find the hotel. I think I can handle the rest."

It was the first semi-polite thing she'd said to him and as she turned to go into the hotel, Neal reached out, gently grasping her elbow. "Wait…I—" he thought quickly, thinking of some excuse to keep her there. For some reason, he wasn't ready to let this woman walk out of his life. "Let me do something to make up for what I said. I'll take you out to dinner."

Her eyebrows rose dramatically. "Mr. Cassady, I hardly think that's appropriate. We've only just met and you already paid for my cab – something I could easily have covered on my own."

' _Wow_ ,' Neal thought, ' _this woman really has no qualms when it comes to speaking her mind._ ' He still wasn't prepared to give up, however.

"It's not a date," Neal told her. "It's an 'I'm sorry' dinner.

Regina's eyebrows remained raised.

"Fine," Neal countered. "Call it a 'thank you' dinner. You owe me for the cab ride."

"I'll give you cash," Regina told him flatly.

"I don't except payment in the form of money; only food." For some reason, Neal found it fun to continue the argumentative banter. That, and he was determined to get his way.

He won a moment later when Regina let out a huffy breath. "If I have dinner with you, will you promise to leave me alone?"

Neal grinned. "Scout's honor."

Regina's expression turned to one of confusion. "Scout's honor?"

"Yeah, you know…the Boy Scouts?"

No recognition. Neal gaped at her. "You weren't kidding – you really are from a small town. You really don't know who the Boy Scouts are?"

"Should I?"

"Well, yeah. Every American knows about the Boy Scouts."

Regina stared at him for a moment before picking up her luggage. "If you want us to go to dinner, we can't just stand here all evening."

"Allow me," Neal said, taking the shoulder bag from her." He shook his head lightly as he led the way to the entrance. There was no saying this woman wasn't unique.

Neal waited in the lobby while she checked in and took the time to check out the surroundings. It was an upscale hotel – he'd never been in one this nice. Regina hadn't been lying when she said she could have paid the cab fare.

He stood when Regina approached but she frowned at him. "You're certainly not coming up to my room with me."

"Don't you want help carrying your luggage?"

"They have people for that."

Sure enough, he noticed that the piece of luggage she'd been carrying was no longer with her. A second later, a bell hop appeared and took the rest of it from Neal.

"Of course," Neal chuckled. "This _would_ be the part of New York that you immediately adapt to."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Nothing," he said innocently. "I'll wait down here and you can meet me whenever you're ready."

"You don't have anything else to do with your time?"

He grinned. "Nothing better."

"I suppose you're right," she said, taking a step back. "You can't do better than me."

He would have been offended, but he saw the start of a smile before she turned and walked away. She'd been making a joke.

This was one complex woman, that was for sure. He could tell that there were several layers to her. He'd known when he first spotted her outside the train station that there was something different about her. He'd been intrigued and he couldn't help but want to get to know her. The fact that he just might get the chance turned him into a grinning idiot.

Neal had always been fascinated by people's behavior. He often sat outside the train station to watch people – not just because it was an easy target for a pick-pocket like him – he genuinely enjoyed seeing people interact. Local, tourists, couples, families, people on their own, people coming and going from work or vacation.

He supposed it had something to do with his past life. That's what he'd come to call it. With his father being who he was, he'd never been able to make friends; he could only watch from a distance. Everyone else was too afraid to go near him. And so, he'd grown quite good at reading people without them ever having interacted with him. It had become almost a sort of hobby.

When he'd come here – a child in a foreign world – life had been extremely difficult. He'd quickly learned to keep his head down and draw as little attention as possible. His hobby had turned into a survival skill; his ability to watch people allowed him to learn the ways of this world quickly and adapt to them. Eventually, he used it to take little things from people here and there without them ever noticing. He could take what he needed; food, money, small items of clothing.

It had been easy to change his name. He hadn't been Baelfire for a few hundred years by that point and he had no difficulty in leaving that life behind. He pulled the names from kind strangers he'd met, creating a new identity for himself.

Eventually, when he was old enough, he'd secured a legitimate job and was able to get an apartment. He'd been more than happy to forget his past and contented himself with his meager life and the people he watched at the train station.

And that was how he'd noticed Regina. She immediately stood out from the rest of the crowd; there was just something about her. He'd never approached anyone before, but this time it had been different. Something inside him wouldn't let him watch her walk away. He'd needed to talk to her. And now, here he was.

"Still here, I see."

Neal jumped slightly, not having noticed Regina's approach. He started to say something, but as he looked up, his breath caught in his throat. She was wearing a deep purple dress – simple, but elegant, and a delicate gold chain glinted around her neck.

"Well now I just feel underdressed," he said when he finally managed to get his voice back.

She smirked. "You're _supposed_ to dress nicely for dinner."

Neal stood. "Yeah, well you'll have to give me a pass on this one. I didn't know when I got dressed this morning that I'd be taking a beautiful woman to dinner."

"Perhaps if you dressed better in the first place, you wouldn't have to worry about it."

He was about to make a retort when he saw a hint of that smile. She was joking again – playing with him. So instead, he offered his elbow to her. "Shall we?"

This time, her smile was a full one and he couldn't believe how much it changed her. She glowed. His skin tingled through the fabric of his jacket where she looped her arm through his and he wondered if she'd felt it as well. If she had, she didn't say anything.

"I know a great place not far from here," he said. "One that will appreciate your clothing standards."

She gave a small nod as indication for him to lead the way.

It was a pleasant walk. She didn't say anything and he allowed the comfortable silence. She seemed to appreciate that he didn't feel the need to fill it with small talk.

As expected, Neal received a few looks when he entered the restaurant. It was a dressier place and he was most certainly not in appropriate attire. Everyone quickly pretended not to notice, however; a combination of having a beautifully dressed woman on his arm and the fact that she glared at anyone who looked at him oddly.

It was unexpected and he found himself smiling at how defensive she was being.

Once they were seated, Regina picked up a menu, slowly turning the pages as she studied the items. She looked up after a moment, just a hint of panic in her eyes. "What kind of restaurant is this?"

"It's Italian," he answered, confused by her reaction. "Do you not like Italian?"

"I don't…I mean, I haven't…" She sort of trailed off and Neal was once again surprised.

"You've never eaten at an Italian restaurant," he finished for her.

She nodded, her expression relaxing. "I don't know what any of this food is."

"It's okay," he told her. "I'll help you choose something. I'm an expert at ordering food."

"You said you've eaten here before?" Regina asked, and it was her turn to look surprised.

"What?" Neal asked. "Because I don't look the part? You'd be surprised; I clean up pretty well for a scruffy guy. I know what I'm doing when it comes to food. I've worked in a lot of different places."

"Mmm." Regina carefully set her menu off to the side and took a sip of her water.

"So you've _never_ had Italian before?" Neal asked.

Regina shook her head. "Is that unusual?"

"Nah," he waved his hand. "Not if you're from a small town." He didn't mention that the fact she'd asked was what made it unusual. "So – where _are_ you from?"

"Maine."

"Where in Maine?"

"A small town."

Neal put his hands up. "Alright, I get it – you don't want to talk about it. What _do_ youwant to talk about?"

Regina glanced out a window. "Have you always lived in New York?"

"Not always."

"Where are you from originally?"

He countered her tight-lipped answer with one of his own. "Here and there. I've done quite a bit of traveling."

The corner of her mouth raised in a half smile. "Quid pro quo?"

"Something like that," he chuckled. "I just don't really like thinking about my past."

Regina's gaze suddenly looked far away and her eyes became sad. "Neither do I," she said quietly.

Neal watched her for a moment and then straightened up.

"Okay, so no pasts. Let's just talk about now."

She looked at him with interest. "Alright. Like what?"

"Well…Let's start with you. How long are you staying in New York?"

She smiled. "We'll see."

* * *

-New York 2013-

"So, kid…you hungry?" Neal chuckled as Henry bounced around him, finishing off the last bit of cotton candy.

Nodding vigorously, he dragged out a loud, "Starving!"

Emma shook her head, laughing. "Too much sugar. I told you you shouldn't have bought him the cotton candy," she told Neal.

"Hey – we were at the zoo and he said he'd never had cotton candy before. It's a crime! How could you never have given him cotton candy? You've deprived the poor boy."

Emma shifted uncomfortably on her feet. She was still waiting for the right moment to tell him that she hadn't raised Henry herself. How did you tell your son's father that you'd given him up for adoption only to end up with him ten years later? She had no idea what she was going to say.

"Are you okay?" Neal asked, causing Emma to jump. He'd noticed her slip into her thoughts and a frown had formed on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about where to eat."

"How about here?" Henry asked, stopping short and peering inside a restaurant window. "It's Italian! I love Italian! Mom makes it at home all the time."

Neal perhaps would have questioned this statement – he knew Emma was no chef – but when he looked up, his heart stopped for a painful moment before he quickly said, "Not here." It was the restaurant he'd taken Regina to that first night. He hadn't been back here since she'd left. He'd tried not to think about it. Perhaps that's how they'd ended up right next to it without him noticing.

He looked up to see three expressions of surprise and he realized that his outburst had appeared random and unnecessary to them. "I just mean that there's a better Italian place around the corner. More our style." He tried to smile away the awkward moment, but the two adults weren't buying it. Luckily, Emma didn't want to question him in front of Henry, and his father was too worn out from the day to care. They all shuffled silently behind him as he led the way.

For some reason, ever since Emma and Henry had come to him with his father, they kept winding up at places he and Regina had shared. New York was a big city. Why couldn't he be allowed to keep these special memories to himself? The universe seemed to be playing a joke on him and he only hoped that the pain would eventually end. He knew though, if that were the case, he wouldn't have chosen New York, and the last twenty-eight years would have faded her from his memory.


	3. This is Different

-New York 1985-

Neal was smiling as he escorted Regina back to the hotel. It was chilly, so she was wrapped up in his jacket and she had her arm through his again. This time, though, she was leaning into him slightly, pressing in for warmth. It was comfortable and he was very much enjoying her company.

After only a few minutes this time, Regina started to speak.

"I had a really nice time tonight. Thank you."

He chuckled. "I don't know why you're thanking me. You paid." After she let out a small laugh, he continued, "I enjoyed tonight, too. Thank you for agreeing to come out with me."

She smiled up at him. "I'm glad I did. I have to say, I was surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. I wasn't expecting it."

He laughed. "You really know how to make a guy feel good about himself." He was growing quite used to her speaking her mind. He actually liked talking to someone who would tell him exactly what they were thinking.

She knew he was joking, but she still felt a need to explain herself. "It's just – I don't normally spend time with other people. I've always done better on my own. I don't get along with very many people. It's been a long time since I've done anything like this."

"Well, I'm glad you did," he told her sincerely. He let silence fall on them for a few moments. "So you really have _no_ plans on this trip?"

"Really."

"And you have no plans on how long you'll be here?"

"None. I told you, I just needed a break."

"Yeah, well I guess you weren't kidding." They were getting close to the hotel and he wasn't sure the best way to ask his question, so he just came out and asked it. "Listen – I have the next few days off, and since you don't have any plans, how would you like a tour of New York?" He was afraid she'd say no – that she'd stick to their original deal and tell him that since she'd agreed to dinner, he needed to leave her alone.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Are you offering to be my guide?"

"I got you to your hotel, didn't I?"

"Hmmm. That's true."

He smiled. "Come on. What could it hurt? If you're gonna be here for a while, you should know your way around the city, and if you're only going to stay a few days, it would be a shame to waste them just sitting in a hotel room."

"You make a good case," she said, tilting her head in thought. She'd tried her best when she first met Neal to keep him at a distance. No one from this world would ever have a chance at understanding her; no one from _her_ world did. But he'd been so unexpectedly charming in such a persistent and irritating way. She found herself liking him, despite the voice in her head telling her just to walk away. And she did want to see New York…The whole point in coming here was to have a change of pace – to get away from Storybrooke – and staying locked up in her hotel room wasn't much of a change from anything.

"Alright, Mr. Cassady, you're hired."

Neal grinned. "You won't regret it."

"I'd better not."

Her response only made him smile more.

They reached the front entrance of the hotel and they turned to face one another. Regina slipped out of his coat and handed it back to him.

"Thank you," she told him. "I suppose I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then."

"I don't have a number to reach you. What room are you staying in?"

She shook her head. "Nice try. Just show up at eleven. I'll come down and find you."

"Until tomorrow, then. Well…" he stood awkwardly for a moment, not sure what to do. Finally, he extended a hand. "Goodnight."

She put her hand in his and he shook it gently, lingering for a moment before kissing it gently and letting go.

"Goodnight," she said quietly. She missed the warmth of his hand when he pulled it away. She suddenly shivered, realizing how much colder it had become. With Neal's jacket, she hadn't noticed.

Without another word, she moved toward the door. As the doorman opened it for her, she turned and waved over her shoulder. Neal gave her a small wave with a smile and she felt instantly warm again. This man was bringing feelings she hadn't felt in a long time and she found herself excited to see him the next day. That never happened.

Regina felt light and happy that night as she went through her nightly routine. She hadn't felt this way since those first few days after the curse had been cast; before she'd realized that none of it was real and nothing ever changed. She may as well have been living the same day over and over again.

But Neal was different. She treated Neal the same way she treated everyone else, but his actions toward her were his own. He wasn't cursed and there were no false pleasantries. Neal was his own person – free and honest – and he seemed to like her despite her initial attempts to send him away.

It was nice, for a change, to have someone smile at her because they wanted to, not because they had to; to offer help out of kindness instead of some kind of automatic response created by the curse.

Neal was real.

When Regina fell asleep, she slept deeply and well.

* * *

-New York 2013-

This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen.

Yesterday afternoon, Emma had started to talk about Storybrooke; home to her and Henry. Neal wasn't stupid – he knew she was dropping hints. She wanted him to come back with them. He also knew, by the awkward way she was going about it, that it was at the request of his father.

That was why he hadn't said anything. Emma hadn't actually asked him to come back with them yet and he was in no hurry for her to do so. He had mixed feelings about it. On one hand, the reason he was being asked was because Rumpelstiltskin wanted another chance with his son, and Neal didn't want that. He'd had years to think about the betrayal and abandonment of his father. Hundreds of years. He'd tried to put it behind him and he didn't want to rehash any of it.

On the other hand, there was Henry to think about. He still couldn't believe it – he had a son. A son that he wanted to get to know and spend time with. These past few days, he'd learned that his son was a kind-hearted, intelligent and imaginative little boy, and he wanted to know everything about him. For that reason alone, he knew he'd end up going to Storybrooke. He'd grown up without a father and he'd be damned if Henry did, too. He didn't want Henry to ever resent him the way he resented his father.

But it shouldn't have been like this. He'd wanted more time to think. Now there was no choice and circumstances had changed. His father was dying and it was Captain Hook who had attacked him. Their only choice was to go back to Storybrooke. Without magic, Rumpelstiltskin had no chance of living. As much as Neal wasn't ready to reconcile with his father, he also wasn't ready to lose him. He was frustrated. He felt manipulated, but there was no one to blame but bad luck. That seemed to be a recurring theme in Neal's life.

As he and Emma headed to pick up a car, he found he couldn't stand the continued silence. "How long has Hook been in Storybrooke?" He knew it couldn't' have been long, judging by the pirate's outfit.

"Uhhhh…a week? Two? Nobody knows exactly how long he's been in this world. He's kinda been hiding out with Cora."

"The…Evil Queen's mother?" Neal was struggling to piece together all of his knowledge of Storybrooke. He'd known what August had told him after he'd met Emma; Storybrooke was a town full of cursed people from their world – Snow White, Prince Charming, Jiminy Cricket, Red, Hansel and Gretel – and he knew that they'd all been cursed by the Evil Queen. A lot of it didn't make sense to Neal. He'd left long before anything leading up to the curse had taken place.

It had been interesting to find out about the town and its people. He wondered how the Grimm's brothers had managed to get as much right as they had. Though he'd only been mildly surprised to find out all of the characters were real people. It wasn't a far stretch for someone whose father was Rumpelstiltskin.

Then, he'd tried to keep up with the snippets of conversation he'd caught between Gold, Emma and Henry. A woman named Cora had come to this world, and with her, a whole lot of bad. He'd surmised that most plans upon getting back to Storybrooke involved stopping her – most likely killing her. She somehow had the power to go up against the Dark One – and quite apparently had a chance at winning. There was talk of the Evil Queen as well and what would need to be done with her.

"Yeah," Emma said.

Neal blinked. "What?"

Rolling her eyes, she huffed out an irritated breath. "You asked if Cora was the Evil Queen's mother. I was answering you."

"Right. Thanks."

Emma took a closer look at him. "Hey, you doin' okay? I know there's a lot going on right now."

Neal nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just trying to sort everything out." They were silent a few minutes. "Is it safe?" he finally asked, a chain of internal thoughts leading him to ask the question.

"Is _what_ safe?"

"Taking Henry back to Storybrooke. With magic and Cora and the Evil Queen, it doesn't seem like a good idea."

Emma looked down at her feet as she continued walking. "Yeah, it's definitely a complicated situation. But what choice do we have? With everything that's going on, I _have_ to go back with your father, and you're the only hope of getting us there. He has to come, but we'll keep him away from the danger once we're there. Maybe you can even bring him back here." It would certainly give her a chance to kill two birds with one stone; keep Henry away from danger and help stall the impending discussion she knew was coming with Neal. But she knew she couldn't' wait that long to tell him the truth. How, though? Especially now that he had some knowledge of Storybrooke and its citizens? How could she tell him she'd given Henry up for adoption only to have him land with the Evil Queen? Now that he knew who she was – some of what she was capable of – what could Emma say? She took a deep breath, wanting to just get it all off her chest once and for all.

"We're here."

Emma started, looking up. She'd been so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that they had indeed arrived at the car rental office.

"After you," Neal said, holding the door open for her.

A part of her cursed the horrible timing as she stepped through the door, nodding her thanks. But the other part of her was grateful. She could stall telling him just a little bit longer.


	4. Run Home

-Storybrooke 1985-

Graham was officially concerned. Regina had told him she was taking a short trip and then left. She gave no plans, no destination, and when he asked, she told him he need not concern himself.

That much didn't bother him, though he wished she'd trust him a little more. The Mayor was a very private woman, and despite their intimate relationship, he knew she kept him separate from everything else in her life.

No, what was worrying him was the town. Regina had only been gone a little while, but weird things had started happening around town in her absence. People would randomly have strange bouts of some sort of amnesia during which they'd forget who they were. It lasted anywhere from mere seconds to several hours. Sometimes they'd wander around town, looking at everything around them as if they didn't recognize anything. They'd even forget some of the most basic things like ordering a coffee, using a telephone, writing a check. Some of them would even begin screaming every time a vehicle passed by. Dr. Whale had been working endlessly to try to find what was causing it, but was making no progress. Graham had gone to see him to try to get an idea of what they were facing, but the doctor had simply shrugged, shaking his head. No one had any clue what was going on.

The _people_ of Storybrooke weren't the only problem. As if that wasn't enough, they'd begun to experience several small earthquakes. At night, lightning storms lit up the sky. Though from what Graham had witnessed, he wasn't sure it could be called lightning. He couldn't peg when all of this had started happening exactly, but it seemed to have been gradually getting worse.

Regina had left strict instructions not to call her, except if it were an absolute emergency. In that case, she'd left a sealed envelope for him containing the name of the hotel she was staying in along with a phone number.

Every time he reached for the phone, however, he pictured Regina's angry face, could hear her voice. She deserved a small, uninterrupted break, didn't she? And so, he didn't call. If things continued to get worse, he told himself he would.

* * *

-New York 1985-

"So?" Neal asked. "Your place or mine?"

Regina laughed. "You make it sound so inappropriate. We're watching a ball game." She swung their hands a bit between them.

"You're right," he told her, putting on a straight face. "This is serious business. Which reminds me…" He stopped walking and let go of her hand. He set the paper bag he'd been carrying down on a newspaper stand and started digging through it. "I got you a little something for the occasion."

Before she could see what he was reaching for, he was pulling something down on her head. She put her hands up to feel a baseball cap. "What is this?"

"Your way of showing your support for the team." He stepped back to admire the Yankees cap on her. "Adorable."

Regina gave him a look of annoyance. She opened her mouth, but before she could protest, he leaned in and kissed her.

She happily responded and when they pulled apart, her look of annoyance had changed into a light smile of contentment. It only lasted a second before she smacked his arm.

"Ow!" he cried, chuckling as he cradled it. "What was that for?"

"You know what it was for," she told him. "Every time I'm about to disagree with you, you kiss me. It's cheating."

"Hmm," he mused. "I don't think it's cheating if we both enjoy it."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, fine." He put a hand over his heart. "From now on, I promise I'll let you disagree with me. No matter how much I love the way you look when you're mad, I vow never to kiss you. From now on, I will only kiss you with your express permission."

She narrowed her eyes and a corner of her mouth lifted in a smile. "I don't think you need to take it quite that far."

"I don't?" He hooked his fingers through the belt loops on her jeans and pulled her closer to him.

She shook her head and leaned in, closing her eyes. She felt his breath, but when no kiss came, she opened her eyes to find Neal with his face only inches from hers, grinning cheekily.

"You didn't give me permission," he said.

"Neal!" She yelled, the irritation flashing in her eyes again. "If you—" but she didn't get any further than that before he'd silenced her with another kiss.

She gave in immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck and allowing him to pull her in closer. It was easy to forget her annoyance when he was kissing her. He kissed her with feeling, like she hadn't been kissed since she was with Daniel.

But this was different from that as well. With Daniel, it had been young and innocent; shy. This was the complete opposite. He kissed her with confidence and purpose, and – she had to admit – quite a bit more passion than she was used to, even with Graham. Even now, in the middle of downtown New York, his mouth moving on hers had her heart racing and she leaned into him, desperately seeking more contact.

They jumped apart, however, at a loud whistle, accompanied by a cat call from a passing stranger.

Neal shook his head when, instead of appearing embarrassed, Regina smirked and placed her arm through Neal's. "Come on," she said. "We've got a game to watch."

He barely had time to snag the paper bag full of snacks before she was pulling him down the sidewalk. God, he loved this woman.

* * *

Neal took a moment to just watch as Regina sat on his couch with one leg tucked up under her. She'd stayed, much to his delight, for almost two months now. He'd shown her New York, just as promised, but they hadn't stopped there. Gradually, their visits to various restaurants around the city had turned into official dates. It hadn't taken long after that for them to admit to each other that they both wanted more.

The truly amazing thing was watching her change. It was a gradual process, but noticeable to someone as enamored by her as Neal was. She was still the witty, sharp-tongued woman he'd first been drawn to, but the coldness surrounding her had faded dramatically as they spent more time together. He learned it was a defense mechanism – a way to keep people from getting too close. It made him realize how lucky he was to see the real her. She was slowly allowing him to learn more and more about her – though they'd both agreed their pasts were still off-limits. He was okay with that.

It was easy to see in this setting just how much she'd relaxed. She was wearing jeans and a plain black t-shirt in place of her usual more-formal clothing. The Yankees cap had been removed and placed on the coffee table, but she'd pulled her hair into a ponytail – something else he had a feeling wasn't the norm for her. She smiled more easily now and when she laughed – really laughed – he felt the joy spreading out from her infectiously. He knew that that had been even rarer before he'd met her. He'd gotten the distinct impression that she'd had very little in her life to laugh about for the last several years.

He watched as she leaned forward, fingers reaching out and sliding something from the center of the coffee table close to her. As she picked it up, he recognized it as one of his comic books. He felt embarrassment creep up – surely a woman like her would frown on a grown man with a comic book collection. He was about to say something to defend himself, but she looked up at him first.

"What's this?" she asked, and it wasn't with any hint of judgment. It was an honest question – she genuinely wanted to know.

"A comic book." He walked over and sat down next to her, handing her an open bottle of coke.

"A comic book?" She took a sip and hummed her approval before setting the bottle on the coffee table.

He nodded, reaching over and taking it from her. By now, he was used to explaining things to her. He'd learned not to question her curiosity when it came to things that seemed obvious. It only made her uncomfortable. Instead, he just went along with it as if it were perfectly normal.

Flipping open to a random page, he showed her the boxed pictures with speech bubbles. "It's like a mini-book, but with more pictures than writing. And it's dialogue."

She studied the pictures with interest. "And what's the point in reading them?"

"It's a form of escape, I suppose," he told her. "People have whole collections of them. I started mine when I was a kid. They helped me through some pretty rough times." Forget that he'd started his collection dishonestly, pulling them from the shelves when no one was watching. They really had helped him escape, though, if only for a little while. "Most of them are about superheroes with special powers that always save the world and get the girl."

"Wishing you could save the world?" she asked him.

"Nah…" He tossed the comic book onto the coffee table and leaned back into the couch, pulling her against him. "As long as I get the girl, I'll be fine."

She shook her head at him, smiling, and he turned his attention to the television that had been playing in the background. "Looks like they're about to start."

"You should turn it up a little," she told him. "I wouldn't want you missing any of the action."

She sat up as he stood, leaning over the coffee table to adjust the volume.

"Better?" he asked, and she nodded.

He pulled the bag of snacks onto the couch next to him as he sat back down. "I still don't understand why you wanted to come here. The TV at your hotel is better than this one."

"Yeah. But I like it here better." She leaned back into him. "It's not a hotel room, it's a home."

Neal didn't say that it didn't feel like a home unless she was there. Without her, it was a half-empty apartment with cheap furniture and a lonely feeling. Instead of telling her any of that, he reached into the snack bag. "Time for some Cracker Jacks."

"Cracker Jacks?"

"Trust me – you haven't lived until you've tried Cracker Jacks. They're an essential part to every baseball game. Plus," he smiled, popping the first kernel into his mouth, "there's a prize in every box."

"A prize, hmm? I like them already." Regina reached out a hand and he poured a small amount into it as they watched the start of the game. "Mmmm." She closed her eyes for a minute after the first bite. "This is really good." Settling back, she brought her hand to her mouth, taking the rest of the Cracker Jacks in one large bite. After a few moments of chewing, she swallowed and leaned forward, picking up the Yankees cap and putting it on, pulling her ponytail through. "So the point of the game is to get home?"

"Something like that," he laughed. "The more players that make it to home base, the more points they get. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins," he explained, breaking baseball down to its simplest elements.

They watched in silence for a while until Neal suddenly exclaimed, "Here's the prize!" He pulled out a small plastic ring with a light blue plastic stone. "Not much to look at, but it's something," he said.

"Blue's my favorite color."

"Really? Well then, you have to have it," he told her, taking her right hand and sliding it onto her ring finger. "Besides, I don't think it goes with anything in my closet."

She elbowed him lightly before settling back against him comfortably, his arm around her.

This was more what she'd had in mind when she'd cast the curse; a second chance at happiness – a fresh start. Being here with Neal allowed her to forget her messy past. She could be her old self. There was no one to judge her for what she'd done and there was no one here in New York to remind her of any of it. There was only Neal, and he made her feel like herself again. With him, she was happy.

As one of the Yankees' bats connected with the ball and sent it out over the fence, the crowd on TV erupted into cheers and Neal joined in, yelling excitedly. Regina even joined in a little, timidly at first, but then getting pulled into the excitement along with everyone else.

Yes. This…this was the kind of thing she'd always wanted.

* * *

-Somewhere off the East Coast 2013-

Emma smiled as she watched Neal show Henry how to steer the ship. Henry seemed to be having a great time. It stung a bit that right now, Neal was the only one able to bring that smile to Henry's face. He was still upset with her about lying to him, just as she knew he had every right to be.

At least things seemed to be going well between Henry and Neal. Henry had warmed up to him quickly and she hadn't expected Neal to take it this well. Rather than running away from the responsibility, he'd embraced it and seemed to love spending time with his son. It made more sense now that she knew he was the son of Rumpelstiltskin. He'd had a father abandon him, choosing himself over his child, and she knew now that Neal would never do that.

She allowed them to continue laughing and talking for a few more minutes while Henry steered the ship. It gave her a moment to gather her thoughts. She knew it was time to tell Neal the truth. They'd be back in Storybrooke soon, and she knew it would be a bad idea for them to arrive without her telling him. At least this way, she could ensure that she was the one who told him instead of some stranger letting it slip by accident.

Finally, she moved towards them. "Hey, kid," she said, smiling. "Looks like you're having fun."

He nodded, but didn't say anything.

"I have to talk to Neal for a minute. Would you mind checking on Mr. Gold for me?"

Henry looked back and forth between the two adults and Neal gave him a small smile and nodded. "Okay," he sighed. At this point, he was used to adults making excuses for him to leave so they could talk about things they didn't want him hearing. Without another word, he shuffled toward the lower deck, scuffing his shoes as he went.

Neal took the wheel and gazed at Emma curiously. He wasn't sure what to expect from her. He would have thought she'd come to continue her interrogation of him, but the nervous expression she wore said differently. Trying to ease the tension, he said, "Henry's a good kid. You did a good job."

Neal was surprised when the statement seemed to have the opposite effect. Emma tensed and closed her eyes.

"That's actually what I needed to talk to you about."

He watched her in confusion.

"I uh…I didn't actually raise Henry. I didn't even name him. When he was…when he was born, I gave him up for adoption. He came and found me last year. Until then, I hadn't seen him since I gave him up."

Neal was silent, the expression on his face indecipherable.

"I did it because I wanted to give him his best chance," Emma rushed on. "I was young, I was in jail – I couldn't raise a baby. I did what I thought was best. He deserved a family who could give him the things I never would have been able to." She watched Neal stare out at the water, speechless, until she finally couldn't take it anymore. "Neal, please say something."

"Where are his parents?"

"Back in Storybrooke." She took a deep breath. "That's why Henry came to find me. He knew that I was the only one who could break the curse. He read the book and figured everything out."

"And how do his parents fit into this? Now that the curse is broken? Now that they remember who they are?"

"Actually…Henry was raised by a single mother, and she's always known who she was."

Neal looked at her in confusion. "I thought the curse made everyone forget their true identities?"

"It did, but uhhh…well – she's kind of the one who cast the curse."

Neal looked down quickly, only to look back up at her, anger flashing in his eyes. "Are you telling me that our son was raised by the Evil Queen?"

Emma could only nod.

"And you're only telling me this _now_?"

"I was afraid! You assumed that I'd raised Henry and I didn't know how to tell you that I couldn't! I wasn't strong enough! I wouldn't have been a good mother. I didn't know how to tell you I gave him up. I gave our son up."

Neal watched as Emma dissolved into tears. He felt guilty. Emma had been young and alone. He couldn'tblame her for making the decision she had. But one part of what she'd said was sticking out. "A good mother. Emma – you think the _Evil Queen_ was a good mother?"

Emma took a calming breath. The worst of it was over. This…this she could handle. "Honestly? Here's what's so screwed up about this curse thing – yes. She was a good mother. She loved Henry and she must have done something right, because look at him. As messed up as she is, she loves him. And that's part of the problem. Now that the curse is broken and the whole town knows who she is, she'll do _anything_ to get Henry back. And I don't know what to do. She was so controlling, so angry – I knew I had to get Henry away from her. But now I know that she wasn't always like that. She was afraid. When I came to town, she knew that if the curse broke, she'd lose everything, including Henry. And after the curse broke, she gave up magic for him. She was trying to be good – for Henry. But now her mother's here and everything's wrong again, and I'm doing my best, but I don't know how! I only just now have parents myself! How am I supposed to know how to be a mom?! And now, the whole town expects me to fix everything, because I'm the savior. But I'm not! I'm just Emma."

She hadn't meant to dump everything on him like that, but she actually felt better now. It was nice not to be burdened with all of those heavy thoughts swirling around in her head, unspoken.

Neal turned his attention back to steering the ship. "It'll get better," he told her, because he didn't know what else to say. "Thank you. For telling me the truth."

She nodded and walked away, understanding that they were done for now.

It was a lot to sort through. Neal had been thrown headfirst into this mess, but he realized that it hadn't been much better for Emma. He could handle it, though. He knew his son needed him now, and he'd figure it out – for Henry. All that mattered now was Henry.


	5. We Could Be Happy

-New York 1985-

Regina closed the dresser drawer with a flourish and turned to grin at Neal. "That's the last of it."

"Then it's official," he said, leaning down to kiss her. "Welcome home." A moment later, he was pushing her away. "Okay, out with you."

"What?" Regina asked in confusion as he continued to prod her in the direction of the door.

"There's something I have to do," he told her, guiding her through the small living room to the entrance of their now shared apartment. He opened the door, pushing her in front of him before stepping out himself.

"What are you do— ahhh!" Regina shrieked. She was suddenly in the air, Neal having swooped her up.

"It's our first place together," he told her. "I'm supposed to carry you across the threshold."

Regina laughed. "I thought that was for married couples."

"Maybe." Neal stepped back into the apartment, careful to avoid hitting the door frame. "Now it's for us, too."

Regina smiled and wrapped her arms lightly around his neck. "Mr. Cassady, I fear you've become far too cheesy."

Neal set her back on her feet. "You might be right," he said frowning, but she could see the playful glint in his eye as she pulled herself up to kiss him.

Several months had passed and Regina found herself blissfully happy. Gone were thoughts of Snow White and curses, of being the Evil Queen and living out a lonely life in a town full of people whose only reason for not hating her was that they simply couldn't remember.

She'd never expected any of this could happen when she'd met him that first day at the train station. He'd been an irritating stranger she couldn't seem to shake, but now she was grateful he'd been so persistent. He'd come in not long after she'd given up on happiness and shown her that she _could_ have it. All it had taken was leaving the curse behind – something she couldn't have done without him.

"So," Neal said, resting his forehead against hers. "What do you want to do today? We still have a few hours before the game starts." It had become a fun sort of tradition for them, watching the Yankees together. Regina had surprisingly taken to baseball quite quickly and was now just as much a fan as he was.

"Actually," she grinned. "I got you a present." She rummaged through her purse and pulled out an envelope. Holding it out to him, she said, "For letting me move in with you."

He took it from her and opened it curiously. "No," he said in disbelief when he saw what was inside. "You didn't."

"I did." She grinned at him. "Although, I have to admit, it's not an entirely selfless gift. One of those is for me, you know."

He pulled the two tickets out of the envelope. "I don't know…There's a guy at work who's a big Yankees fan." He shook the tickets in his hand thoughtfully.

Regina crossed her arms and mock-glared at him. "You know, I don't have to stay. If you'd prefer to live with your friend from work…"

She laughed as he pulled her back in to kiss her. "I'm sorry," he told her. "You're right. I've made a terrible mistake." He pulled away and headed for the door. "I'll go tell him now. He'll be so excited!"

He had the door open before he felt Regina wrap her arms around him from behind. "Don't you dare!" she laughed.

Turning in her arms so he could look at her, he couldn't help but grin. "I love you."

The phrase was still new in their relationship and Regina hadn't adjusted to hearing those words. She still found herself not quite able to believe it. She – who thought she'd never love again – was madly, deeply in love with this man, and he loved her back. It scared her to think about everything she could lose, but when she looked at him when he told her he loved her, she knew he would never hurt her. She could trust him with her heart, something she hadn't done in a very long time.

"I love you, too," she whispered.

He smiled at her, understanding that this meant something more than it normally would, coming from Regina. She didn't give her love easily. Knowing she'd feel uncomfortable, he once again lightened the mood. "Come on, woman. We're going to be late!" He pulled her out the door again, closing it behind him and locking up.

She shook her head and laughed at him as he eagerly pulled her down the stairs after him. He was like a giddy child. Once they were outside, he hailed a cab. "This is the best day ever!" He said, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Mmmm," she said, leaning into him and putting her arm around his waist. "I think I'd have to agree."

* * *

Regina couldn't believe the noise of the stadium as they approached on foot. Sure, she knew the crowd would be noisy; their cheers filled the room from the television at home, but she couldn't believe the energy that flowed through the noise when it was in person. It made everything that much more exciting and she grinned as she looked around at everyone laughing, talking, running, all ecstatic to be there.

"Excuse me, sir," a vendor suddenly said, pulling their attention away from the crowds. "It looks like the lady could use a jersey."

Neal glanced down at his own jersey and then over to Regina, whose t-shirt was plain, void of any team logo. "I think you might be right," he told the man, then looked over to Regina. "What d'ya think?"

Regina's mouth quirked up in a half-smile. "I suppose." She moved closer as the man pointed at all the various jerseys he had available. "This one," she said, pointing to one exactly like the one Neal wore.

"Matching. Good choice," the man said smiling.

Neal handed over the money as Regina took the jersey from him and pulled it over her head. "How do I look?" she asked, holding her arms up.

"Perfect!" Neal said. He pulled her back against him as they started walking again.

It took a while for them to get from the front gate to their seats, but once they were there, Neal marveled at how close they were to the field. "How'd you score these tickets?" he asked. "They must have cost a fortune, and that's even after the fact that seats this good are usually sold out long before the season even starts."

Regina grinned at him. "Money isn't a problem, and you should know – I can be very convincing when I need to be."

"I do," he agreed. "Minx," he muttered.

She slapped him playfully. "I heard that."

"Would you mind if I took your picture?"

The couple startled at the voice and looked up to see a photographer standing in the aisle, watching them. "I can send you copies if you'd like."

Regina looked at Neal and he shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

The photographer slid awkwardly past the people in the row in front of them until he was positioned directly in front of them. "Smile."

Neal pulled Regina in close as they smiled for the picture.

"Perfect," the photographer told them as he snapped the photo.

Regina turned to Neal. "Thank you," she said. She leaned in to kiss him and when she pulled back, she had such an adoring expression on her face that his heart skipped a beat. He took a card from the photographer, filling in his name and address quickly and handing it back to the man, who went off to find more photo opportunities.

"You have a habit of thanking me for things _you've_ done," Neal told her.

"I do, don't I?" Regina laughed. "Well, I mean it all the same."

Neal didn't ask why she was thanking him, he just leaned in and kissed her again. "Thank _you_ ," he said. "For being the most amazing woman I've ever met and for giving a guy like me a chance."

"Well, you know…" she mused. "You _are_ kind of cute."

He scoffed at her. "I'd be insulted, but I know that cute is code for drop-dead gorgeous."

Laughing, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you wanting me to call you gorgeous?"

"You're right. We'll reserve that description for you. But I object to being called 'cute'."

She patted him on the shoulder as he pouted. "Just watch the game. It'll make you feel better."

As she leaned her head against him while they waited for the game to start, he was thinking that there was no way it could get any better than this.

* * *

-Storybrooke 2013-

Neal trailed awkwardly behind Emma and her father as they carried Gold between them. He was thankful for the distraction his father provided in the current situation. The reveal that he was Henry's father had passed quickly, almost unnoticed. He had a feeling that that wouldn't have been the case if the others hadn't been so distracted by current events taking place in Storybrooke.

He still felt uncomfortable in the presence of Emma's parents. If it hadn't been for his father, Henry or the fact that Emma had told him she needed him, he would never have been talked into coming like this. Except now there was Henry. With everything that he'd heard about taking place in this town, he couldn't stay in New York. It had only been a few days, but Henry was his son and it was his responsibility to make sure he was okay. It was amazing how quickly that feeling had settled in; the feeling of being responsible for another life.

He followed everyone back to what was, apparently, his father's shop. After his father was settled as comfortably as he could be in his current state, Neal followed Emma to draw the invisible line in front of the doorway. He took a moment to look around the shop and noticed with distaste that it held trophies under the guise of knick-knacks to be pawned. It was something his father had started doing after he'd become the Dark One – he'd take meaningful items from those he'd made deals with as tokens to remind him of those dealings.

When Emma had finished, he followed her back to rejoin his father.

"Bae," he said weakly, reaching for his son's hand. "When it's time, I want you to slip out the back door."

"What?" Bae said quickly. "No! I'm going to help you fight them off. I won't let them kill you! I won't let that evil woman take your power."

"It's alright, son. I have the others here to protect me. I don't want you here. This isn't your fight. You should go and make sure Henry's taken care of."

"Henry's with Ruby and her grandmother," Neal argued. "They'll take care of him. Right now, _you_ need me, and so does Emma. I have no intention of leaving you."

Before they could go any further, the walls shook and items on the counters in the front of the shop rattled. There was a flash of light and the door began to open.

That was all Neal had a chance to see before he suddenly found himself in the middle of the diner. Looking around, he realized that his father must have used his magic to transport him there. "Dammit!" he cursed.

"Neal?" Henry appeared from the back of the restaurant. "What's the matter? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, buddy," Neal sighed. He didn't want to scare Henry – at least, not any more than he already was. "My father sent me here to keep me away from the battle."

Henry was silent for a moment. "You don't…you don't think they're going to kill my mom, do you?" he asked quietly.

Neal bent down in front of him. "You mean Emma?" he asked, but knew before Henry even shook his head that that's not who he had meant.

"No, the Evil Queen," he clarified.

"I don't know," Neal said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "I'm sure they'll do their best to make sure that _no_ one gets hurt, if they can help it."

Neal wanted nothing more than to run back to his father's shop – do something, anything, to help. But he knew it would be no use. His father would simply use his magic to send him away again. Although he probably wouldn't have the strength – Neal was amazed he'd been able to send him the first time.

He wouldn't be able to leave anyway. The expression on Henry's face gave away just how frightened he was, no matter how brave he was acting.

"How about you keep me company?" Neal asked. He looked up as Granny appeared from the kitchens. "You happen to have any board games lying around?"

"Actually," Granny smiled, "I do. I'll be right back," she told them, heading back.

"What d'ya say?" Neal asked, turning back to Henry.

"Yeah," Henry said, walking over to the nearest booth. "Okay."

Neither of them wanted to be there. There was a battle going on only blocks away, and both were worried about the outcome. Still, if Neal had a chance at taking his son's mind off of it, he would. Who knew? Maybe it would help him, too.

Looking at Henry, though, he knew that this game would do very little for either of them.


	6. Goodbye

-New York 1985-

Regina was smiling as she walked home with her purse slung over her shoulder. She couldn't wait to get back to Neal. She'd spent the day volunteering at a local garden and she found that she rather liked spending the day in the dirt. There was something to be said for how relaxing it was just to be another average person, and pushing around dirt with her bare hands was something she found to be almost therapeutic. It would be rewarding to see everything they'd worked on eventually grow and bloom and become beautiful.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the group of children running toward her until one of them had run straight into her.

"Sorry," the child mumbled, quickly trying to rush past her.

"Are you alright?" she asked, blocking his path. He seemed frightened and he'd run into her so hard she was surprised either of them had managed to stay on their feet. It made her wonder just what it was he was running from.

"I'm fine. I'm really sor-" but he stopped as he looked up at her for the first time. He stopped struggling and stood there in shock and fear, studying her carefully. "You're...you're _her,_ " he whispered and quickly kneeled down on the sidewalk. "Your majesty," he said, and the poor boy was visibly shaking.

Regina quickly pulled him to his feet, looking around to make sure no one else had seen. She was still in shock herself. How did this boy know who she was? As she looked back at him, however, she realized he _did_ look familiar.

"You're the wood carver's son," she said in surprise. "The puppet - Pinocchio." It was a whispered realization and both of them exchanged horror-filled glances. Regina was wondering how a child from their world had managed to escape to this world. Beyond that - what did it mean that in this large world, they'd managed to run into one another - literally.

August was having similar thoughts. If the Evil Queen was here, did that mean everyone else was, too? His father, Snow White, Jiminy? A larger concern was what was going to happen to him? He'd run into the Evil Queen. He was confused, though, to see that she seemed just as shocked and scared at seeing _him_.

"HEY!"

Both of them jumped as a large man bellowed angrily, appearing from around the corner and gesturing madly toward the boy. "Stop those kids!"

One of the other children who'd realized August was no longer with them had turned back, and called from up in front, "Come on, Auggie! What are you doing?!"

August used the distraction to jump around Regina, running to catch up with his friends. He looked back at her one last time as he ran, and their eyes met for just a moment, both of them looking lost.

Another second and he was gone. Just as abruptly as the young boy from their world had appeared in her life, he'd disappeared around a corner. Regina watched for a minute longer, as if he'd come running back again.

She turned back around when she heard the man wheezing. He was bent at the waist, trying to catch his breath, apparently giving up the chase.

"Those nasty kids stole from me," he puffed heavily as he tried to stand straight again. "Came right into my store and took food off my shelves. Somebody has to pay for that!"

So that's why they'd been running, and why the boy had looked so terrified. They'd been stealing. But of all things, food? It didn't sound like something they were just doing for the thrill of it. She'd also noticed that his clothing had seemed ratty and unwashed. Did he not have anyone looking after him? She was reminded painfully of the curse that would have ripped this boy's loved ones from him. But how had _he_ managed to escape the curse?

Quietly, she pulled out her checkbook. "How much?" she asked.

The man stared at her in disbelief. " _What_?"

Regina sighed. "How much did they steal? I'll cover it."

She wasn't entirely sure why she was doing it. Maybe it was out of guilt for the role she'd played in what happened to that scared little boy, or to make the man just leave her alone with her swirling thoughts - maybe both. One thing was for sure - her good mood was gone. She was thinking about the curse again.

She just wanted to go home and lie down.

* * *

When Regina stepped through the door, closing it heavily behind her, Neal immediately knew something was wrong. She didn't look over at him, but he could tell from her posture that she'd drawn herself in and replaced her emotional walls. When he finally managed to catch her eye, he gave her a small smile, trying to get some reaction out of her, but all the light seemed to have momentarily left her and she was only able to stare at him in return.

"Regina?" he asked tentatively. "What's going on?"

He walked over to her when she didn't answer and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Hey. What is it?"

Regina stepped into him, wrapping her arms around her waist and leaning her head against his chest. "I had a bad day," she told him simply.

Immediately wrapping his arms around her in return, Neal hugged her tightly. "Well then, we'll just have to make sure tomorrow is better."

It was something they'd come to telling each other when one of them had had a particularly hard day, but this time, Neal could tell something was different. This wasn't the average, 'missed the train, spilled a coffee on myself,' type of bad day. Something truly awful had happened and he could see that it wasn't going to be something to just talk away. Regardless, his simple saying seemed to have relaxed her just slightly and she allowed him to hold her for longer than she normally would have.

Not wanting to break her peace, Neal allowed the silence to continue between them. Regina would tell him when she was ready to talk about it. Eventually, she did pull back, but she only looked at him with a deep sadness.

Neal reached forward to wipe a tear that had fallen and Regina blinked in confusion, not even realizing she'd started to cry.

"What's going on?" Neal asked again, starting to become nervous. He'd never seen her cry before, at least not while she was awake. Living with her, he couldn't avoid hearing her cry in her sleep. It happened often, but he never said anything about it. He didn't want to upset her and he figured that if it was something she'd wanted to share, she would have. But awake, she'd always been the strongest woman he'd ever met. Nothing shook her and to see her now, so obviously upset, created a knot in the pit of his stomach. A feeling that something bad was coming.

"Something happened today," Regina said quietly. "I ran into someone from my past."

Neal stayed quiet on this subject, surprised she was even telling him that much. Their pasts had always been strictly off-limits, and he didn't know what to say. He had no idea what it was that she seemed to have been running from - and whatever her past, he was sure that the way she'd avoided it and come to New York, she was definitely running - he had no idea what it might be. An ex-husband, an abusive relationship, an overbearing family, no family; whatever it was, he knew it was most likely the cause of her crying in her sleep and the fact that she now stood in front of him, pale and visibly shaken, he knew he was right.

He waited for her to continue, but what she said next caught him off guard. "I'm not who you think I am, Neal. I'm not a good person."

He rubbed her arm. "Don't say that." Trying to lighten the mood slightly, he gave her a slight smile. "I knew when I met you, you were no angel, but you're not a bad person."

"No," she said forcefully. "That's just it - I am. You don't know anything about me before I came to New York. You don't know the things that I've done - the people I've hurt..." she trailed off as she seemed to lose herself in her thoughts.

"It doesn't matter," Neal told her with just as much conviction. "That's exactly why we haven't told each other about our pasts. Because it _doesn't_ matter. For whatever reason, we both needed fresh starts, and that's exactly what we've been given. I've done things in my past that I'm not exactly proud of, but I've put it behind me. I'm a different person now than I used to be. So...whoever you used to be - I don't care, because now, you're Regina, the woman who lives with me; who I love. We watch baseball together, and go to restaurants and the zoo. You're intelligent and funny, you make me laugh, and sure, you can be difficult, but that does _not_ make you a bad person."

Regina had dropped her gaze to the floor as he spoke, but when he finished, she looked up to meet his gaze. "I want to be that person. I want it more than anything else in the world."

"So just be her," Neal told her simply. "Whoever you ran into today - just forget about them. Forget about all of it. Just be here...with me."

Regina leaned back into him, returning her arms to his waist. She wanted to do as he said, but unfortunately, seeing that boy had reminded her of the cursed town she'd left behind. When she'd moved from the hotel, she'd left no forwarding information with the front desk. It had been an attempt to cut herself off from the world she'd come from, but with the appearance of Pinocchio, she found herself suddenly unsettled. Questions now swam through her head about how the boy had managed to escape the town. And with it, she'd felt a strange nagging. It had been almost a year now and she had no idea what was happening back in Storybrooke.

Still leaning into Neal, she closed her eyes, his words echoing in her head - _'Just be here...with me.'_

If only it were that easy.

* * *

The curse was breaking. There was no question now. As Regina put the phone back in its cradle, she felt nauseous. She'd shoved the feeling of dread aside for several days before she just couldn't put it off any longer, and she'd made the call to Storybrooke. Graham had been frantic; repeating over and over again how glad he was to hear from her, that he'd been trying to get ahold of her for several days now. And that was the first hint that something in Storybrooke was wrong. Time wasn't supposed to pass in the small Maine town. Events were repeated day after day, and no one ever knew the difference between one day and the next. But they'd begun to notice now, and more than that, some of them had started to remember. There'd been all sorts of disturbances in her absence and people who'd begun to regain their memories had been labeled crazy. They thought it was some sort of epidemic spreading through the town and they were all in a panic.

And it was all because she'd left. She wasn't sure how or why; she could only assume it had something to do with her magic being tied into the curse so that, without her there, there was nothing to keep it all together. She'd thought she'd been free to come and go as she pleased, but she now knew that that wasn't the case. She was just as trapped as the rest of them.

Only for her, it was so much worse. She was cursed with the memories of her real identity and with the awareness of the passage of time. And now she'd had a taste of something better. An actual life with someone she loved and who loved her back. Someone with whom she'd talked about a future, marriage, children. Sure it had been a long way off, but it was close enough to dream about, and now, before she'd even had the chance to see any of those dreams come true, they were being ripped from her. Again.

She knew she had no choice – she had to go back. She couldn't allow the curse to break. With Neal, she wouldn't have cared about the curse, but she knew the consequences of magic unleashed on this world, and she knew that that's exactly what would happen if the town awoke now. If people somehow found a way to cross that border after they remembered who they truly were, this world would be infected with the same poison that had existed in her world. And she knew that they'd find her. They'd be too angry to let it go. Graham knew now that she was in New York, and while she knew that he'd never tell a soul, the same could not be said of the Huntsman.

If she stayed, Neal would be in danger, and she couldn't allow that under any circumstances.

She'd briefly entertained the idea that they could just pack up and leave, but she knew that eventually the past would just catch up with her. And Neal would want an explanation.

She had to go back.

* * *

When Neal came home that afternoon, he saw the cab parked out front, the cabbie packing what were unmistakably Regina's bags into the back of his car. He ran upstairs and burst into the apartment. "Regina?!" he called loudly, making his way to the bedroom where he found her packing up the last of her bags. "Regina? What are you doing?!" When he walked inside, he could see she was crying as she packed. "Where are you going?"

"I have to go back," she said, her voice shaking slightly.

"No. No, you don't," Neal told her. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Please, just stop. Let's talk about this."

"I can't!" Regina cried. "There are so many things you don't know Neal. I have to leave to protect you. It's not safe to be with me."

"Is there someone coming to hurt you?" Neal asked frantically. "Because I won't let anyone hurt you! I'd never let anything happen to you, Regina."

She zipped her suitcase after the last shirt was folded inside and turned to face him. "I know," she told him quietly. "But this isn't something you can protect me from. I'm the evil that caused it all to happen in the first place."

He brushed the tears from her cheek softly. "Regina-"

She shook her head. "I have to go back."

"But for how long? You can fix whatever it is you feel needs fixing and then come back." He knew as he said the words that that wouldn't be the case. There was too much finality to the way Regina was packing; was looking at him. This was goodbye for good.

She put her hands on either side of his face. "You'll find someone again, Neal. Someone better."

"There isn't anyone better, Regina!" he said, starting to sound angry. How could she be leaving him?

"This isn't because of you, I want you to know that," she told him. "I love you."

"Then don't leave."

She barely managed to whisper, "I have to," before she broke down into fresh tears and threw herself into him.

He pulled her close and held her tight, knowing this would probably be the last time he was ever able to do so. He pulled back far enough to kiss her.

The kiss lasted as long as it could without them needing to breathe, and when Regina pulled back, she let out a sob. "I have to go."

She pulled away from him, and he watched in defeat as she carried her suitcase to the door.

At the last second, he called, "Regina," and she turned to face him in the open doorway, tears streaming down both of their faces.

"I love you, too."

It was the last thing he ever said to her. He didn't follow her as she took her last suitcase down the stairs and out to the cab. He knew there would be no changing her mind, and he wanted to leave it where they had. He wanted her to know he loved her, but it was too painful to watch the cab drive her out of his life forever. Instead, he sat on the couch and tried not to notice how suddenly empty the apartment was again. How quiet. Instead, he broke down and sobbed.

* * *

-Storybrooke 2013-

Henry opened the door to the home he'd grown up in quietly. It felt strange to be back here after so long.

He didn't know how to feel about the way things had gone at Gold's shop. His grandfather was alive, as were Snow, Charming, Emma and his mom. Evil had been defeated. At least, he thought it had. He didn't know the details, but he did know that Regina's mom had ended up dead and his mom was blaming Snow White. No one would tell him any more than that.

It had taken quite a while, but Henry had finally managed to talk Emma into letting him go to the mansion so that he could get some more of his things. He was living on the bare minimum at the apartment and he was really starting to miss his room.

Emma had finally agreed, setting it up with Regina. Everyone had been surprised that Regina had even bothered to take her call, but she had. She'd said of course Henry could take some of his things, but she wouldn't be there – he'd have to let himself in. Emma knew it was because Regina wouldn't be able to watch Henry packing up more of his things to take away and it made her feel guilty.

Neal accompanied Henry on this particular outing, as no one felt Henry should go alone and no one else was particularly eager to enter Regina's house. Especially not under the current circumstances.

Following Henry up the staircase, Neal couldn't help but look around the house curiously. The overall look was surprisingly warm – not something he'd expected from the Evil Queen. He didn't know exactly what he _had_ expected, but it wasn't this.

As Henry flipped the light switch in his room, Neal looked around, taking in how full the room was. Regina had certainly made sure that Henry never wanted for anything. "Let's hurry, kid," he said, glancing at his watch. "We're running behind. We probably shouldn't have stopped for those milkshakes on the way."

Henry grinned. "But they were so good!"

Neal gave him a lopsided smile in return. "Yeah, but we've gotta get you home. Come on, come on," he laughed, pushing Henry further inside. "Let's get a move on."

Henry tossed his backpack onto his bed and started putting a few clothes into it. Neal took the time to wander over to the bookshelf. "Nice comic book collection!" he commented, amazed by the great titles gathered there. "These are some of my favorites!"

Henry paused to look at him. "Really?"

"Yeah," Neal smiled. "I grew up with comics. They can make you feel like a super hero."

"That's what my mom said," Henry told him quietly, going back to shoving clothes inside his bag.

Neal turned his attention to the desk, seeing a small handprint that must belong to Henry, accompanied by the words, 'for mommy'. Neal gave a small smile at the thought that, during at least one point in his childhood, Henry and his adoptive mother had had a normal, happy relationship.

And that was when he saw it. He reached out, pulling the photo into his hands, not believing what he saw. The woman with her arms around Henry, her chin resting lovingly on his head looked exactly like Regina. It _was_ Regina. But how was that possible?

"Neal?"

Henry's voice startled him and he turned to look at him. "Is this your mom?" he asked, a little more loudly than he'd meant. " _This_ is the Evil Queen? The woman who raised you?"

"Yes…" Henry took a step back, confused by Neal's sudden reaction to the picture.

Further conversation was stopped by the sound of a door opening and shutting downstairs, followed by the sound of footsteps on the staircase.

She must have noticed the light on in Henry's room, and a moment later, Regina's voice was heard from the hallway. "Henry?"

There was no mistaking that voice. Neal set the picture down on the desk as Henry went out to greet her. "Hi," he heard him say sheepishly.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked. "I thought you'd be gone by now."

"Neal bought us milkshakes on the way. Are you mad that I'm here?"

"Oh, no, Henry – I'm not mad. I'm happy to see you. I just—" she stopped short as Neal stepped into the hallway.

There was a moment where they only stared at one another, hearts pounding, not able to believe their eyes. Henry looked back in forth between them, not understanding what was going on.

"Neal?" Regina breathed.


	7. It's You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I wasn't home to post this chapter last night, there will be another one tonight.

" _Oh, no, Henry – I'm not mad. I'm happy to see you. I just—" she stopped short as Neal stepped into the hallway._

_There was a moment where they only stared at one another, hearts pounding, not able to believe their eyes. Henry looked back in forth between them, not understanding what was going on._

" _Neal?" Regina breathed._

It was funny. After all of these years and all of the thoughts and dreams – thought to have been self-indulgent, pathetic delusions at the time – about the woman standing before him, Neal thought that he'd be able to come up with something to say. Something more than the simple, "hi" that escaped.

But that seemed to be enough for Regina. Letting out a broken sob, she was suddenly in his arms, and he forgot to care about whatever it was he might have wanted to say. He closed his eyes and pulled her fiercely against him, barely able to believe that it really was Regina in his arms – that she was real and right here after all of these years.

In the back of his mind, there was a sort of buzzing that reminded him of the circumstances surrounding how any of this was possible. The fact that Regina was the same age, that she was the Evil Queen, that she'd raised Henry, that it was she who had cursed their entire world to this one; so, so many overwhelming things. But Neal didn't think about any of it. He silenced the nagging thoughts before they'd fully formed, refusing to think about anything right now but the woman he'd loved more than anyone in his entire life; someone he'd thought was gone from his life forever.

Regina, not having the benefit of the brief minute of realization that Neal had been allowed before they'd come face to face, was overwhelmed by confusion. She half-expected that this would turn out to be a mental-break on her part. After all, there was no way that this could be real.

The arms around her held her firmly, however, and they seemed real enough. As did the comforting scent that could only be described as uniquely Neal.

Neal finally managed to find his voice as he felt Regina crying against him, her fingers clinging desperately to the back of his jacket. "I missed you," he told her.

Regina cried out, a strange sob that was made more out of joy than anything, because this really _was_ real.

As the reality of the last few decades came crashing back down around her, Regina found it odd that the universe had finally allowed her something good in the mess that her life had become. In the span of just the last few weeks, she'd lost her son, the curse, the strange and shaky trust she'd managed to garner from Emma, her redemption, and then her mother.

Afraid that it wouldn't last, Regina gripped Neal impossibly tighter. "I had a bad day," she whispered.

Neal would have laughed from his mix of joy and relief at having Regina magically back in his life, and because of the comfortable familiarity of that statement even after all of these years – except he was also thinking about everything behind those words this time. Everything that had happened to the Evil Queen – all of the terrible things he'd heard about the woman he'd thought he was supposed to hate – had actually happened to Regina, the woman he'd never stopped loving.

So instead, he said, "Well then, we'll just have to make sure tomorrow is better," before he placed a kiss to the side of her head.

And then, it was Regina who laughed. It was a broken-hearted sound, but the smile on her face was genuine as she buried her face into his neck.

The moment was brief before there was a loud voice from behind Regina.

"You _know_ each other?"

Both of them turned, surprised, having forgotten Henry's presence.

"Yeah, kid," Neal told him. "You could say that."

It was a lot to take in, and they all needed answers. In probably the first clear thought she'd had in days, Regina looked at both Neal and Henry and decided now would be as good a time as any.

"Why don't we sit down and talk?" she suggested, and both of them nodded, Henry leading the way down the stairs.

Regina didn't fail to notice that Neal hadn't removed his hand from her back, even now allowing it to slide around to her arm and down to tangle his fingers with hers as they followed Henry.

They both knew that whatever was waiting for them downstairs was going to make everything terribly complicated. Life was about to be turned on its side – even more than it already had been – and it was a terrifying thought.

Regina tightened her fingers around Neal's hand and he responded by running his thumb over the back of her hand.

All kinds of questions were waiting, and they both took a deep breath as they stepped onto the first floor.

Neither of them was sure they wanted the answers.


	8. What Happened to Us?

As they neared the living room, both Regina and Neal felt the beginnings of panic. The reality of the situation was starting to settle over them and they realized that the looming conversation wasn't going to be a pleasant one; also, one likely not suitable for Henry. They both knew that there was a lot about this situation that didn't make sense, but creeping suspicions of what was happening made them feel that the comfortable familiarity between them might not last.

When they finally reached the doorway, Regina stopped in her tracks. "We can't do this," she said suddenly, and she looked up at Neal, the fear in her eyes plain for him to see.

"What do you mean?"

Coming from a place with even less knowledge of what was going on, Regina was going into this with more caution.

"Talking. We can't talk about all of this in front of Henry. There's too much Neal. I don't think—"

Hearing the hysteria building in her voice, Neal cut her off. "It's okay." He turned her to face him and placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's going to be okay, Regina. We don't have to talk about everything right now." He looked into her eyes and drew strength from the love he saw there. Sounding more confident then he felt, he said, "This will all work out." He was trying to convince himself as much as he was her, because he wanted more than anything for it to be true.

Regina slowly nodded, accepting what he said as truth, though she had her own doubts. She moved to turn, but he stopped her again and she frowned when she saw pain flash through his eyes.

"There's something you need to know before we go in there," he told her. He took a deep breath. "Henry is…" he needed to say this before he lost his nerve, knowing that it would be wrong for Regina to hear it from anyone but him. Rushing on, he said, "Henry is my son."

For a moment, he wondered if she'd heard him. Her expression hadn't changed and she didn't say anything. She only blinked.

"Regina…?"

"Yes, I heard." Her eyes darkened a bit and her mouth set in a hard line. "You're Henry's biological father."

The truth was, inside Regina's head, everything was suddenly very loud. There was a sort of wall that was currently blocking her from the brunt of this newest realization. She could feel that she was shocked, horrified, terrified – so many other emotions – but she couldn't actually _feel_ any of them. She supposed it was the shock. She knew it would all come crashing down on her sooner or later. It wasn't something she was looking forward to.

"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" Regina walked past Neal, and Henry's head popped up from where he was sitting on the couch. He watched her as she took a seat across from him and as Neal followed behind, sitting next to her.

"How do you know each other?"

Neal cringed while Regina looked off to the side.

Henry wasted no time in getting straight to the point. Knowing her son, Regina had expected the immediate and direct question, but Neal hadn't.

"We knew each other a long time ago," she answered, knowing Neal wasn't quite ready to speak.

"You mean, like, in _your_ world?"

Regina took a deep breath. "No. In this one."

Henry looked between the two of them in confusion, his eyes finally settling on Neal. "But how? And why didn't you tell me you knew my mom? I told you she was the Evil Queen and you didn't say anything!" He pushed himself back into the couch cushions, looking both vulnerable and angry. "Why does everyone keep lying to me?"

"Buddy, I swear I didn't know. I wasn't lying to you, okay?" Neal glanced at Regina. "I didn't know she was the Evil Queen until today. Like your mom said, we knew each other a long time ago."

"You said in _this_ world. Mom was already the Evil Queen when she brought everyone here with the curse. She's always been the Evil Queen. How could you _not_ know?"

Regina flinched. It was true that she'd been the Evil Queen for a long time, but with the curse, she'd wanted a fresh start. She'd realized over the last several months that it had never truly been an option; just a mirage of happiness for a desperate soul. She had never been destined for lasting happiness. Rather than allowing herself to sink deeper into those dark thoughts, she tried, instead, to focus on the warmth she felt every time Henry called her mom.

There was silence for a moment as Neal studied Regina. She wanted it to end; she felt judgment rolling off the only two people left in the world that she loved, and it was more painful than she'd imagined. She wanted to make them stop, to say something, but she knew she deserved it, so she kept silent. Instead, she twisted her hands and looked down into her lap.

"I couldn't have known," Neal finally said. "It was a different time, a place without magic. _We_ were different."

A surge of fear coursed through Regina at that statement. They _had_ been different people, but the way Neal said it carried some note of finality to it, like they could never go back.

She almost laughed at herself the next second for thinking such a naïve thought. Of course they could never go back! More than twenty years had passed, there was Henry, Emma, the broken curse, magic, and of course – the fact that she was the Evil Queen.

There would be no happiness for her now that the curse was broken, only retribution. She would pay for her crimes – the town would make sure of it.

Neal didn't miss the darkening of Regina's eyes as she stared down at her lap. He was ready to say something, but the doorbell rang, making them all jump.

"That's probably Emma," Neal said, glancing down at his watch. "We've been here for more than half an hour. She's probably wondering what's keeping us."

"But you haven't told me anything yet," Henry cried in frustration.

"I know, kid, but it'll have to do for now." Neal was too tired to come up with anything better to say, and right now, he needed to talk to Regina; alone.

Regina was watching him now. She felt another pang when she heard him call Henry 'kid'. He and Emma were so alike. Only, all of the qualities she'd loved in Neal, she hated in Emma, and now she couldn't get the idea of them out of her head. Emma had been in a relationship with _her_ Neal, and it made her feel sick. They were perfect for each other. How had Neal ever been happy with a controlling woman like her?

"Come on, Henry." Neal waved Henry up and pushed him toward the door. "I know this is confusing right now, and that's why…you need to promise you won't tell anyone."

"That you know mom?" Henry looked over his shoulder at Regina, who hadn't moved from her spot on the couch.

"Yeah. People wouldn't understand it, Henry. Just give us a chance to finish explaining it to you first, okay?"

"But what about mom? She'll _know_ I'm lying. She can always tell when people are lying."

This time, both Regina and Neal knew that mom meant Emma.

"Well, she'll just have to deal with it. It's really important that we just keep this between the three of us for now, okay. Can you promise not to tell?"

Henry stared at him for a moment, but then nodded. "Yeah. I promise."

"Good." The doorbell rang again, this time followed by some knocking. Neal pushed Henry in front of him and turned to look at Regina before following. "I'll be right back."

Regina nodded, but didn't look at him.

When Neal pulled open the front door, Emma's hand fell away and a look of relief passed over her features as she looked at Henry. It didn't last long.

"Where the _hell_ have you been?" she directed angrily at Neal.

"Here," Neal said matter-of-factly.

"Wow, thanks," Emma said sarcastically. "We both know that's not what I meant. Regina's home – I saw her car parked in the driveway, so what are you still doing here?"

Neal ignored the question and put his hand on Henry's shoulder. "Would you mind taking Henry to the apartment alone? I have a few things I need to deal with."

Emma's eyes narrowed. " _Here_ , at Regina's house?" She strung it out slowly, suddenly very curious as to what was going on.

"Can you take him, or not?"

"Yeah…okay. What's going on Neal?"

"I'll tell you about it later. Just…not now."

"You're not going to do anything stupid, are you?"

Neal just shook his head and bent down to Henry's level. "I'll see you at the apartment later tonight, 'kay buddy? We'll talk more tomorrow."

Henry nodded.

As they started down the walkway, Neal closed the door and made his way back to the living room to find Regina hadn't moved. "Hey," he said quietly.

To his surprise, she jumped and looked at him with disbelief. "You're still here."

"I told you I'd be right back."

"I thought you'd go with them."

"No, I had Emma take Henry alone. I wanted to stay so that we could _really_ talk." He ran his hands through his hair. "What happened, Regina? Why'd you leave?"

Regina thought it was funny Neal hadn't expected the direct questioning from Henry. After all, it was a trait inherited from Neal himself. After almost thirty years, she was facing a question she'd never thought she'd have to answer. She was terrified, but she couldn't help but feel a little wonder that Neal was here and able to ask it. Still, the universe was cruel with the circumstances under which they'd been brought together again.

"The curse – it was breaking. I had to come back."

Neal moved slowly over to the seat Henry had recently vacated and sunk down across from Regina. "So the curse was more important than us; our relationship? Me?"

Regina shook her head violently. "No! Nothing was more important than us, Neal, but it was something that had to be done. If the curse had broken like that, magic would have been released into this world. Do you know what that would mean?" she asked in frustration.

Neal nodded his head. "Better than most," he said bitterly. "It could have destroyed this world as we know it, but Regina – the curse is broken _now_. Magic is still contained in Storybrooke. How would it have been any different all of those years ago?"

Regina watched him carefully. How could he know about magic? He was Henry's father, sure, so Henry and Emma had most likely filled him in on the story from the book, but he seemed to have a deeper understanding.

"It's different because I was the one to cast the curse. When I left town, the curse wasn't whole anymore. It was breaking down and it would have unleashed everything out into the open. Emma was the one to break it and the border is still in place. Magic is contained this time. Everyone remembers who they are now, and magic is back, but it's all still stuck in Storybrooke. Right now, the world is safe."

Looking at her, Neal still couldn't believe it. "How can _you_ be the Evil Queen?" he asked, shaking his head. "It doesn't make any sense. She's killed people, she cast this curse for revenge, she's cruel; it just…it doesn't make sense," he repeated.

"I'm sorry," Regina whispered. She used one hand to wipe away an escaped tear as she reached for Neal's hand with the other. "Neal, I wanted to tell you everything, but how could I? You would have thought I was crazy."

"But I wouldn't!" Neal looked down at her hand and shook his head. "I would have believed you. I could have come back with you."

Regina choked on a sob as she realized how different things could have been. "I couldn't have known. I wish I had," she whispered.

She looked up at him then and he saw her watery eyes, pleading silently with him. She closed them when he stroked her hand softly with his thumb, a small gesture of forgiveness. It was all he was able to give her right now.

"What happened?" he asked. "After you came back, I mean."

"Nothing," she told him. "The curse remained intact."

It was a completely honest answer. _Nothing_ had happened after she'd returned to Storybrooke, at least, not to the town.

* * *

-Storybrooke 1985-

Regina sat in her robe in the chair by her bedroom window. She'd been back for almost a month now and she still hadn't readjusted to being in Storybrooke. At this point, she felt that she never would.

The town had returned to normal; people had stopped regaining their memories, the earthquakes had stopped, all of the damage had been repaired, and everyone had forgotten about the mayor's leave of absence. Sheriff Graham remembered she'd taken a short vacation, but nothing beyond that. He'd asked her once how she'd enjoyed her trip, to which she'd given a hastily constructed false smile and hurried away, escaping to privacy just in time to break down. He hadn't mentioned it since.

Daily routines were exactly the same as before she'd left. Which is why today, she was in here, still in her pajamas. If she had to go through the same motions again today, she thought she might become physically ill. Illness was the excuse she'd given her assistant when she'd called to inform the girl that she wouldn't be coming into the office that day.

Now, two hours later, she was wondering what difference it made anyway. There was nothing here to distract her from her miserable existence. More importantly, from her memories of Neal; her taste of what happily-ever-after could have looked like had she been allowed to keep it.

But that's not what this was about, she reminded herself. It was so that she didn't have to watch Marco fixing the sign, Gold walking down the street with his cane, Ruby arguing with Granny as she put out the sign for the diner, Archie walking his dog, Ms. Blanchard knocking into her as she hurried to class. These people she hated; her curse had seemed like the perfect way to finally have her revenge and her happy ending, but it had backfired. She had nothing of the sort. At least all of the victims of her curse had lives. They had no idea that they were repeating the same day over and over again. They even seemed content in their mundane daily tasks.

Regina pulled her feet up onto the chair, pulling her legs into her chest so she could bury her head into her knees and cry. She should never have left Storybrooke. Maybe she would have been used to the curse by now if she hadn't. Maybe she wouldn't have felt this lonely if she hadn't met Neal.

But she knew that none of this was true. She had no one to live for here. Kurt and Owen had shown her that when they'd first come to town, and now Neal had reminded her just how wonderful life could be if you had someone to share it with.

* * *

-Present Storybrooke-

"Hey, hey," Neal said soothingly, standing to move around the coffee table. Regina hadn't said anything more after she'd told him that nothing had happened, but she'd seemed to drift away, and now she was crying. "What is it?" he asked, sitting down next to her and pulling her against him.

She allowed it and leaned into him, wrapping her arms firmly around him. "Why does everything always turn out so awful?" she asked quietly.

"I suppose because life was never meant to be fair," he answered, "and so all of the terrible things are thrown at the strongest people because they can handle it."

She laughed darkly. "I don't think I've handled anything. At least not well. I'm the Evil Queen."

"That's true," he said thoughtfully. "But you're still here."

"Mmmm." She allowed silence for a minute as she closed her eyes, allowing herself to pretend for a moment that she'd never left New York and that this was just another day in their apartment.

When she felt calmer, she asked the question that _she'd_ wanted to ask for all of these years. "What about you? Something must have happened after I left; you've barely aged a day. You should be, what, coming up on your late fifties?"

He chuckled. "Much, much older, actually, but that's another story. We're both tired. It's been a long couple of weeks and a lot has happened. I can't tell you my story just yet; there's too much you don't know and it wouldn't make much sense. Ask me again tomorrow, okay? I promise I'll explain everything, but I can't promise that you'll like any of it."

"Alright," she said, closing her eyes again. "Tomorrow."


	9. Shadows

Neal wasn't back at the apartment until late. He'd hated leaving Regina at all, but he knew Henry was waiting for him. Instead, he'd allowed the little time they'd had together to be peacefully silent. At this point, talking would only hurt them both – there were too many painful things to say. Explanations, accusations, blame, regret – these seemed to be the only things the couple had right now. Which is why they'd chosen to stay silent after Regina had told him why she'd come back to Storybrooke. Underneath all of those bad feelings, there was still the love. It had been deep and true, and neither of them had allowed it to fade completely out of existence.

Regina had been so tired when he left that he was surprised she hadn't fallen asleep there on the couch. Though he was glad she hadn't – he would have hated to sneak out when she was asleep.

Emma was sitting up in a chair, nursing a cup of something steaming when he walked in the door. It was obvious she'd been waiting for him. She raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything as he shut the door behind him. "Coffee?" he asked, nodding at her cup.

"Tea. It's ten-o-clock."

"You don't drink tea," he said without thinking.

"I _didn't_. I do now." She said the words a little bitterly and he felt irritated with himself for opening up the door to their pasts. "People change," she told him.

"Yes, they do." If he hadn't believed those words when he woke up this morning, he believed them now. Never in a million years would he have thought the Evil Queen everyone had been describing would turn out to be Regina.

"Neal?" He jumped slightly and met Emma's curious gaze. "What were you thinking about?" He seemed to be giving her statement a lot of thought and hadn't spoken for a while.

"Nothing." He shrugged. "It's late. I kind of just want to crash."

Emma's eyes narrowed. "You're avoiding me. I'd think it was just the whole awkward ex thing, but Henry was doing it, too. What happened at Regina's house today? And why the hell did you stay? You've been over there for hours."

This was more what he'd expected from her. Emma in interrogation mode. Only – just like he'd told Henry – he wasn't ready to tell her the truth.

"I told you – I had things to take care of."

"Mmm." Emma didn't push it. She could tell he was lying; it didn't take her super power to be able to detect that he was holding something back. She could also tell by the tone of his voice, however, that he really didn't want to talk about it. Emma knew Neal was as stubborn as she was in that area. If he didn't want to talk about it, no amount of nagging or harassing would change his mind.

"Henry upstairs?" Neal asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah." A look of irritation crossed her face. "He fought going to bed because he wanted to talk to you. He finally fell asleep about half an hour ago."

"Alright, well I should probably get to bed, too. Long day." Neal turned toward the bathroom, but Emma's voice stopped him.

"Neal." Her tone was softer and lacked the sharp edge it'd had before. When he turned to look at her, she continued. "I don't want to fight. We've been getting along so far and I want to keep it that way – for Henry. I don't mean to come off the way that I did, it's just…you're new here – there's so much you don't know about the people here. Just be careful."

Neal knew she was being sincere in her words, and he also knew it was killing her to not ask him what he was doing. "I will," he told her. "You don't have to worry about me, Emma. I know more than you think. And I promise – when everything settles down a bit – I'll tell you what's going on."

Emma nodded and left him to retire to her loft.

It was awkward staying in the small apartment. Neal was effectively living with his ex – a woman he now knew he had a child with – and her mother and father, who also happened to be Snow White and Prince Charming. As if all of that weren't awkward enough, he happened to be the son of one of their greatest enemies, and he was now harboring the secret that the love of his life was their other arch-nemesis, and the stepmother of his ex's mom. The only thing keeping Neal in the apartment was Henry. Neal originally had taken a room at Granny's, but with everything that had happened, they'd all agreed it'd be safer to stick together. Now that the main threat had passed, Henry had grown accustomed to having his father around and Neal had decided to continue putting up with the awkwardness for his benefit.

Growing up without a father wasn't a fate he wished on anyone, and now that Neal knew he had a son of his own, he didn't plan on abandoning him. He would be as much a part of Henry's life as he was allowed. Especially now that he knew Henry was Regina's.

That was a wonderful thought, but something odd. One of those miraculous things that happened in the universe that no one could really explain. And it was just starting to sink in; Regina had raised his son.

Knowing he really needed to get some rest in order to face the coming day, Neal decided it really was time to call it a night. He might even be able to fall asleep more easily on the thought that it was Regina who had cared for his child.

* * *

Regina woke early, not feeling very well-rested. It had taken several hours for her to fall asleep, even with how exhausted she'd been. She'd been trying to figure out how all of this was possible, but she'd drawn a complete blank. There was no scenario she could come up with that made sense. How Neal had stayed the same age, how he seemed familiar with magic, how – of all children in the world – she'd ended up with Neal's son; a son he hadn't himself known existed. She knew Neal was planning on telling her everything today, but she still hadn't managed to calm her thoughts.

The guilt wasn't helping, either. She'd managed to bury the guilt she felt about leaving Neal when she'd gotten Henry, but now it was fresh and raw, especially with Henry being Neal's son.

She was also now terrified. Neal had been her fresh start. He'd had no way of knowing where she was from, who she was, what she had done, and now he knew everything. She was sure the Charmings' wouldn't pass up the opportunity to fill him in on all of the horrible details, either.

She wanted to go back to the split second when she'd first seen him appear in her upstairs hallway. Everything had been okay in that second. One of the only people in the world who could take away all of her pain had suddenly reappeared in her life to comfort her. She wanted it back. More than that, she wanted to go back to the time before any of this had mattered; New York. Their home. They'd had forever there, not just a few short moments. At least, it had felt like they'd had forever. She knew better than that now.

Stretching, Regina decided she needed something to take her mind off of everything for a little while. For the first time in a long time, she headed to her closet to put on running clothes instead of a pantsuit. She zipped up her jacket and put on her only pair of tennis shoes, actually looking forward to her run. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gone for a run; it had been several weeks before Henry had gone to find Emma in Boston. After he'd brought her back, things had become chaotic, and all of her free time had been devoted to finding ways to keep the curse from breaking.

As she stretched, she considered the idea that now, after recently being remembered as the Evil Queen, may not be the best time for her to be seen out running. But she didn't care. She needed this, and she'd be damned if she let any of the townspeople scare her away from clearing her head. Besides…it was still early enough that most people would still be in bed.

* * *

Ten minutes into her run, and Regina already felt refreshed. With feet pounding the pavement, it was easy to let all of her problems fall to the back of her mind – she could worry about all of it later. She actually felt the beginnings of a smile as she rounded a corner. It had been a long time since she'd felt the freedom of running.

It didn't last much longer, however. She was coming up on Granny's when she saw him, and more importantly, he saw her. She'd have to stop now.

"Regina!"

Neal.

She slowed down as she approached him and then stopped, taking a second to catch her breath. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting some coffee?" He shrugged his shoulders and held up the fresh cup. "What about you? Still running after all of these years?"

"Sort of. It's early. What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep anymore," he told her knowingly. "Which I imagine is what has you out in a dangerous town at an absurd hour."

"Storybrooke is not dangerous," she scoffed.

"Not for most people, maybe," he said. "But for you…"

"I can take care of myself," she snapped.

"I'm sure you can." He sighed. "I'm sorry. This isn't the conversation I had in mind when I saw you again. I'm just tired; I didn't sleep very well."

"Neither did I," she said sadly. "And I'm sorry, too. We both have a lot on our minds. I guess the anticipation has just been a lot to deal with."

"What do you say we rid ourselves of the anticipation and just have our conversation now?"

She nodded. "I like that idea." She glanced up at the front door of Granny's. "I think I could use a cup of coffee myself before we talk."

"There's no one in there right now aside from Granny and Ruby. Why don't we just talk in there?"

"Alright." She took a step toward the door, but Neal stopped her by reaching for her hand.

When she turned around to look at him questioningly, he smiled. In her running clothes, with her hair in a ponytail and very little makeup, she looked like the Regina he remembered from New York. She gave him a small confused smile in return, wondering what he was doing, and he said, "I realized there's something I haven't done since seeing you here."

"What?"

Without any more warning, Neal pulled her into him and pressed his lips to hers. She only tensed for a second before she was wrapping her arms around him and returning the kiss.

They let it go on for a while – they both needed it. They knew that this was a rough road, but it was nice to be reminded that the love between them was well worth traveling it.

Finally they pulled back and Neal shook his head, smiling. "Even better than I remembered."

"Come on, we should go in before anyone sees us out here." She allowed him to hold her hand up to the door of Granny's before he let go to open the door for her.

Neither of them noticed Gold standing in the doorway of the hardware store across the street, finishing his early morning errand just in time to find his son kissing his rival.


	10. Rough Seas Ahead

Ruby looked up when the bell on the door rang to find Regina stepping inside in a running outfit. She walked around the counter, ready to defend herself from any possibility of attack when Neal stepped in behind her.

"You're back," she said in confusion. "…with the queen…"

Neal nodded. "Yeah, Ruby, I'm back. Can we get another cup of coffee please?"

"To go?"

"Actually, a mug would be fine. We'll be staying for a while."

Ruby studied him for a minute. They'd begun to form a friendship since Neal had been staying in Storybrooke. The two had a lot in common and Neal found that Ruby had the ability to remind him of all the things he'd liked about home. In turn, he told her stories about his travels around the world – something she'd always wanted to experience herself, but had never had the opportunity to do because of the curse.

And now here he stood with the woman that had been the cause of that, and they seemed to be friendly with one another. Her eyes narrowed, wondering what was going on.

"Please, Ruby?" Neal asked, seeing her studious gaze.

"Yeah, okay."

As Ruby went to fill up the coffee, Neal led Regina to a booth in the back corner. It was as far away as they could get in the small diner, but Neal was still glad that this is where they'd decided to have their conversation. While it wasn't as private as talking in Regina's house, it felt more comfortable. Being in that big house reminded him of a life that Regina had lived without him and it made him ache inside. At this hour, the diner was still relatively private, and it didn't taunt him with ideas of a life he could have shared with the woman he loved.

They waited as Ruby finished the coffee; Regina watching Ruby and Neal watching her. He found himself wondering just how many times over the years Regina had come here for her morning cup of coffee after a run, but stopped that trail of thinking immediately. It wouldn't help if he turned every place in town into a memorial of his dream life.

Ruby looked at Regina curiously as she finally set the coffee down in front of her. It was odd to see her without her usual dark make-up. Back when she'd simply been known as the mayor, it had still been different to see her this way, but now, as the Evil Queen, it was almost jarring. It reminded her that there was a person underneath all of the cruelty; the person her best friend had told her for years was there, but that she'd never been able to see.

"Did you need something?" Regina snapped. Ruby had been staring at her for a good few moments now, and it was starting to put her on edge.

Embarrassed at being caught, but too prideful to admit it, Ruby offered an indifferent sounding, "No," and spun on her heel to leave the unlikely companions to their coffee in peace. Her curiosity was killing her, however, so instead of going all the way back to the kitchen, she stopped when she was out of view of the front part of the diner. Granny wouldn't miss her if she was only gone for a few minutes, and she was desperate to find out what these two could possibly have to talk about.

Around the corner and out of sight, Ruby used her excellent hearing to eavesdrop. For a minute, all she could hear was the soft scraping noise of someone twisting their coffee cup nervously. She was just starting to wonder if either of them were going to say anything at all when Neal finally spoke.

"I'm not sure where exactly to start. I suppose I should first explain why I ended up where I did." He sighed.

Over at the table, Regina took a small sip of her coffee and looked at Neal. "You don't have to. You can start wherever you'd like."

Neal shook his head. "No, the rest of the story doesn't make sense if I don't explain this part to you first." Taking a deep breath, he started in. "When I was about thirteen, my father abandoned me. I was in this world all alone, and I had no idea how to survive. I was lucky enough to stumble upon a family that took me in and made sure I was cared for. While I was there, however, the children of the household were visited by the shadow."

Regina set down her mug and looked at him in confusion. "The shadow? You mean…you mean the one from Neverland?"

Neal nodded and Regina leaned back further into the booth. "He returned every night, regardless of the precautions we took. Finally, in an effort to save the family from being separated from one another, I allowed the shadow to take me in place of one of the brothers."

Putting a hand over her mouth, Regina shook her head. "You've been to Neverland?" she whispered. Everyone knew the tales of Neverland; the dark world that children never returned from. At least, that's what was believed. The fact that Neal was currently sitting opposite her told another story.

"Yes. I was a Lost Boy for several decades before I finally managed to escape. I ended up back in this world, though it had been close to a hundred years. I grew up here and came to know this world as home. And then I met you and you became home. When you left, I was so lost."

* * *

-New York 1985-

It had been four days. Four days of not leaving the apartment, of barely eating, of not sleeping enough because of thoughts of her, and sleeping too much to escape the same. The only thing in his life that meant anything to him now was a map of New York; the only item she'd left behind. It was the same map he'd found her studying that first day, only now it had been added to. Little notes in her immaculate and elegant cursive covered different sections; places they'd visited together were circled. It was all he had left of her.

There was a ball game on today, but he didn't care. It wouldn't be the same without her there next to him.

It took two more days, but he finally managed to drag himself down to get the mail. He tossed it carelessly onto the coffee table before one envelope caught his attention. Picking it up, he sliced it open, careful not to damage the contents inside.

Sliding the pictures out gently, he sat back heavily on the couch. There she was, smiling, leaning against him, looking radiant and beautiful. He stared at it for several minutes before he remembered that that hadn't been the only photo included in the envelope. There were two others. Flipping to the next one, he saw that the photographer had taken a few candid shots the couple hadn't noticed. And it was no wonder; the second photo had been taken just after they'd leaned in to kiss one another. It had him raising his fingers to his lips, remembering what it had felt like to kiss her.

But the next photo was his favorite. It had been taken immediately after their kiss and both of them were looking at each other with more love and adoration than he could ever have thought existed.

He didn't know how long he looked at the picture; it could have been minutes, hours, days, but however long it had been, he'd made up his mind by the time he'd finished looking at it. He couldn't stay here without her. Not in the apartment, not in the city, not even in the world. No matter how far away he went, he could still feel the absence of her and it was unbearable.

Doing the unthinkable, he went back to the only other place he'd spent any large amount of time in; Neverland; it was also the only other world he could travel freely to and from. Being marked as a child by the shadow made it so that he could slip into it without consequence, so long as he could find the portal. It took a few months of miserable travel, but he was finally able to follow the proper stars to a place off the coast of a small, remote island; a whirlpool, avoided by all ships who traveled within range. Going through it in the small boat he'd rented had proved a less than fun experience, and the boat had been destroyed in the process, but it had done its job.

It was a dark, miserable, horrible world, but it was also the perfect distraction for someone who'd lost the love of their life. It didn't take long for him to run into Captain Hook, the man he'd met as a child; the man who'd known his mother. He didn't know whether it was out of a sense of guilt for how things had gone between them the last time they'd met, or pity for the miserable state he appeared in now, but Killian offered him a position on his ship, along with a place to stay.

Two weeks after he'd started work, Hook found him above deck in the middle of the night after all of the other men had gone to bed. There was only a skeleton crew running the ship, and they were all too distracted with their jobs to notice their captain and new comrade near the stern of the ship.

"What do you have there?" Killian asked, noticing Neal bent over an object he couldn't see.

"Nothing," Neal said.

But as Killian got closer, he saw Neal quickly folding something up. "A map?" he asked with interest. "May I see it? I have a fondness for maps." But the way he asked was more of a command than a request. He was curious what had Neal so distracted, and in the middle of the night when he should be asleep.

Neal finally handed over the map, but not without a fair amount of hesitation. "Please be careful with it," he told the captain.

Hook took the map and walked to the helm, dismissing the crewman assigned to steering the ship. Laying it out before him, he unfolded a section of it as Neal came to stand behind him.

"An odd map, to be sure; I've never seen anything like it." He studied the hundreds of lines that went in every direction, all labeled with names and numbers, the only symbols he recognized being the letters dictating direction; north, south, east, and west. "What kind of map is this?"

"It's a map of the city I lived in in the other world," Neal told him.

"Yes…New York," he spotted the name printed in larger letters above the rest and correctly assumed it was the name of the city Neal mentioned. "Odd that you would keep such a thing; it won't be of any use to you in this world." It was then that he noticed the additions to the map. Notes of places, dates, times, all written in what was unmistakably a woman's hand. "So it's a woman that brings you back to us?" he finally asked.

Neal scowled and remained tight-lipped.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." Unfolding the rest of the map, a few more pieces of paper shifted loose and fluttered to the ground.

"Careful!" Neal cried, but before he could bend to pick them up, Hook had reached down with his good hand.

"What's this?" Killian asked in amazement. Half of his astonishment came from what these slips of odd paper were; they were pictures, but unlike the drawn picture he kept of Milah, these were life-like, as if a moment in time had been captured exactly and put onto this odd, shiny paper. He turned them around in his hand, marveling at the magic of the pictures before setting them down in front of him to stare at the images. That was where the other half of his shock came from. The woman in the pictures was the Evil Queen herself; looking quite different from the last time he'd seen her, but it was her, nevertheless. It wasn't just her strange outfit, the lack of dark makeup, or that her now short hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail; it was the expression of pure joy on her face in all three of the photos. The love shared between the two was evident, and it completely transformed the queen's features. He wondered how it was possible that the son of the Dark One had grown to love the Evil Queen. Especially because he'd heard of the Dark Curse; the curse that the queen had cast on their old world to take everyone away to another land.

"Regina," Neal said softly, looking down at the photos. "Her name was Regina."

Hook looked up at him in amazement. Was it possible that Neal had no idea of just whom he'd fallen in love with?

"What happened to her?"

"She left. She said it was something to do with her past – that it would be dangerous for me if she stayed." His eyes didn't move from the photos. "But I wouldn't have cared," he continued in a whisper. "I'd have faced any danger. I would rather have died with her than to keep living this way without her."

Well this was interesting, Hook thought. It appeared Neal had absolutely no idea he'd fallen in love with the young protégé of his father. Even more interesting was the news that the land they now resided in was one without magic. Without magic, the crocodile was just a man; a man that could be killed the same as any other.

Hook smiled. All those decades of waiting had paid off; he'd finally found a way to get his revenge. The only obstacle now would be to find his way to the other world. A difficult task to be sure, but he'd come this far, hadn't he? What would another few years be if it meant he could finally kill the man who'd killed his love?

"Don't worry, mate," he said, clapping Neal on the shoulder. "You may yet see your Regina again."

Neal carefully folded the photos back into the map and tucked them safely inside his vest. "I should be getting below deck. It's already late." The way Regina had said goodbye had been so final, leaving very little hope of ever seeing her again, but he didn't want to say it aloud.

He was here now, in Neverland; a world where dreams were lost and the only worry people had time for was whether or not they'd make it to the next day. This was where he needed to be.

* * *

-Present Storybrooke-

Neal was brief in his story of Neverland, not wanting to dwell on that dark part of his past. He told her only that he'd gone back, that he'd worked for Hook, and that one day, he'd decided it was time to come home.

"I couldn't go back to New York. I wasn't ready for that, so I wound up in Portland."

"Where you met Emma," she pointed out quietly.

"Yes, where I met Emma." He looked down at his hands. "I didn't know she was pregnant. August probably never would have convinced me to allow her to go to prison if I'd known."

Regina's head snapped up at the mention of the name. "Wait…August?"

"Yes. Why?"

"He told you to leave Emma in prison?"

"He knew about the curse somehow. He explained to me that for it to break, certain things would need to change. Emma couldn't stay on the path that she was on, and she couldn't stay with me."

"But you would have." She glanced down, unable to look him in the eyes as she spoke. "Stayed with her, I mean."

She felt Neal cover her hand with his own. "Regina, I thought you were long gone. I'd lost hope of seeing you ever again – it had been more than a decade. Yes, I would have stayed with her – she was carrying my child." He gave her hand a light squeeze. "But I _never_ stopped loving you. I want you to know that. No matter how much time passed, all other love I felt paled in comparison. That's why I ended up back in New York. It was my way of being closer to you again."

Regina wondered about Hook. The pirate captain had known about her presence in this land and her relationship with Neal, yet he'd said nothing. She wondered about his motivations. She also wondered about Neal's father, how he'd escaped Neverland the first time, and about his time spent with Emma. But rather than bring any of that up, she looked across the table at Neal. "You kept my map?" she asked softly. Throughout his story, that was the detail that had stuck with her. The knowledge that he had carried something of hers with him after she'd left made her heart flutter.

"Of course I did. It was the only thing I had left of you."

"Do you have the pictures?" she whispered.

He reached into his jacket, pulling out what was unmistakably her old map of New York, though it was now wrinkled and well-worn around the edges from being looked at so often over the years. She remained silent as he carefully unfolded it and pulled out the photographs. "I've had them on me every day since the day I got them." He set them carefully in front of her.

Picking them up gingerly as if they might fall apart in her hands, Regina stifled a sob.

Around the corner, Ruby itched to see the pictures that had brought forth so much emotion in the normally cold-hearted queen. The story she'd heard was nearly unbelievable. The Evil Queen had ventured out of Storybrooke? And fallen in love – not just with any man, but with the man who'd also loved Emma and who'd fathered Henry. She was still struggling to process everything she'd just heard when Granny stepped out of the kitchen. She scowled and opened her mouth, most likely to scold her granddaughter for shirking her duties, but Ruby urgently waved at her to be quiet before she could make a sound and give them away.

Granny, not one to be shushed, was just about to give Ruby what for, but stopped when she heard what it was that Ruby was eavesdropping on.

Regina, having now flipped through all three of the pictures, found she couldn't hold back her cries any longer. She put the photos down and covered her mouth with one hand while her other arm wrapped around her waist. Heartbreaking sobs wracked her small frame and tears streamed down her face as she mourned the loss of the love she'd had all those years ago; that she would still have had if she'd only trusted Neal and asked him to come with her. She thought she'd been protecting him, but as always, her actions had only served to hurt them both.

Granny and Ruby looked at one another incredulously, listening to the sounds of the woman they'd believed to be heartless as she cried with great hiccupping sobs.

Neal slid out from behind the table and stood. "Hey." He wrapped a hand around the arm she'd curled around herself protectively, pulling it away gently. "Hey," he repeated, until she finally looked up at him. "Come here."

She allowed him to pull her up and she all but collapsed into him once she was standing. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her close, and when he spoke, his words were shaky with the effort of holding back his own tears. "None of it matters. We're together now. Just don't run away again, okay?"

She made a choked sound of agreement as she nodded vigorously.

He hugged her to him more tightly then he probably should as he kissed the top of her head, but she didn't protest.

"How about I take you home now?" he finally asked.

She nodded again. Taking a deep breath, she stepped back and wiped her eyes. She kept breathing deeply as she wiped her face clear of any evidence that she'd been crying. When she felt recovered enough, she looked around her. "I didn't bring any money with me. I wasn't expecting to get coffee."

"I've got it." He pulled his wallet out and set a few bills on the table. "Let's go."

The bell jingled as he pulled the door open for her and they stepped into the brisk morning air, leaving a stunned Granny and Ruby in their wake.


	11. Things just got Muddy

Regina was exhausted when they arrived back at the mansion. She dropped the keys on the table inside the front door and listened as Neal stepped in behind her and closed the door.

"You can wait in the living room for me if you want," she told him. "I'm going to take a quick shower and change into some normal clothes."

"You don't have to."

She gave him a small smile. He hadn't changed at all since she knew him in New York; he was still the same sweet man who'd convinced her to let go of so many of the things that kept her from enjoying life, and she felt that sense of peace just standing here with him. He wasn't treating her any differently as she'd expected, and now that they'd gotten some of their discussion out of the way, she was feeling much better. "I'd love to stay here with you all day and do nothing but talk, but I actually have to get to work."

He looked at her in puzzlement. "Work?"

"Surely Emma or someone else mentioned it to you? Along with being the Evil Queen, I'm also the mayor of our small little town."

Neal sighed, the only acknowledgement of her Evil Queen comment, and nodded, but the confusion didn't leave his eyes. "Yes, it was mentioned, but I also thought that all of that changed when the curse broke."

"Hmm." She looked darkly amused. "For a while. They originally asked me to step down, and I did – gracefully. But when my mother came to town, well…we had a sort of power trip, and I took back my position. While there, I couldn't help but notice that no one had been doing the work since I'd left office and things were beginning to fall apart. Contrary to popular belief, Snow White and her Prince suddenly regaining their memories does _not_ mean that the town can magically run itself." She chuckled. "Pardon the pun." Clearing her throat, she looked back at him. "So for now, I'm going to make sure this town runs smoothly, and until they drag me out of my office, I'm going to stay there and do it properly."

Neal smiled at her and shook his head. "You always were a tight-ass. Hey," he laughed out, ducking as she moved to swat him. "I surrender, I surrender."

She put a hand on her hip and grinned at him. "And you always were a child," she countered. "But we all have our charms. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get ready for work."

"I'll be here," Neal told her, walking away. "Waiting." As he disappeared around the corner, he called out, "Impatiently," and she laughed.

It wasn't even twenty minutes later that she was back downstairs, dressed in her usual black slacks, with a dark green silk dress shirt and black jacket. Her hair was smoothed down into its normal style and her freshly applied makeup was immaculate.

Neal smiled when she entered the room. "Only you would consider those normal clothes. There was a time I had you wearing jeans and t-shirts like the rest of the world," he reminded her.

"I was a different person then," she told him sadly.

He walked up to her and rested a hand lovingly against her cheek. "You're the same person, you've just forgotten. We'll find her again."

She leaned into his hand. "We?" she asked hopefully. "Does that mean you're staying?"

"I was never leaving," he assured her, pulling her into a hug. "It just takes some time to process. Now," he stepped back. "Can I walk you to work, Madame Mayor?"

"How about we take my car instead? I've had enough exercise for today."

"Alright, but," he held up a finger, "only if you let me drive."

* * *

Emma was scraping the mud off the bottom of her boots when she heard the frantic knocking at the door. Grateful for the excuse to stop what she was doing, but annoyed with the earliness for such persistent knocking, Emma dropped the boots and stood to answer the door. Then again, she thought, it might be urgent. It was no secret that this was the apartment of the Sheriff. She preferred to think of it that way rather than as the home of Snow White, Prince Charming, and their daughter, the Savior. That was the main reason people came around anymore, but Emma tried to pretend that nothing had changed.

It rarely worked.

She sighed as she looked through the peephole and spotted Ruby, tapping her foot and anxiously waiting for someone to open the door. It wasn't that Emma didn't enjoy Ruby's company - she did - it was just that it meant for sure that this wasn't police business. If Ruby had needed something of that nature, she would have called.

Trying to put on a polite smile, Emma opened the door. "Hey, Ruby. Mary Margaret already went to the school, but-"

"No, no," Ruby stopped her midsentence. Emma opened the door more widely as Ruby sidestepped her and entered the apartment. "I actually came here because I need to talk to you. It's kind of urgent."

"Okay...uhhhh…" Emma shut the door and busied herself by moving the boots she'd carelessly tossed back to their place by the door. "Is it something you need the Sheriff for, cause I gotta tell you, I'm not really in the mood for anything Savior-like today." She ran a hand through her hair. "Not that I ever really will be," she muttered.

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that," Ruby quickly assured her. "I mean, it's neither. I'm just here as a friend."

"Then why do you still look so on edge?" Emma asked suspiciously.

Ruby twisted her fingers nervously and Emma narrowed her eyes. "I'm getting the feeling that I'm not going to like what you have to say."

"Well..." Ruby bit her lip. "Probably because you won't. In fact, maybe we should sit down."

Emma sighed in exasperation. "Ruby, just tell me."

"Are you sure you don't want to-"

"Ruby!"

"Fine." Ruby took a deep breath before rushing into her story. "Well it was really early, and Granny and I were still working on opening the diner, but then Neal came in for coffee, and then he came back a few minutes later with Regina, and-"

"Wait." Emma held up her hand. "Neal was with Regina?" She thought back to the night that Neal had come home late from Regina's house. He'd been secretive, as had Henry, and she wondered what was going on.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "And they were talking, and I almost didn't believe what I was hearing, but Granny heard it, too."

Emma wondered what it could possibly be that would have Ruby so worked up. Was Neal asking Regina about Henry's childhood? That was one reason she could think that Neal would want to talk to her. And honestly, she wouldn't blame him for it. He'd only just learned that he had a son and it would be natural for him to want to know more about his son growing up. God knows Emma wanted to. But that was one reason she also didn't buy it as the actual reason for the two to be talking. Regina had always kept Henry's childhood memories close to her, never wanting to share them with anyone. It would be unlikely she would suddenly decide to share them with a man that she'd only just met; a man that was yet another threat to her when it came to custody of her son.

And that was the other reason she knew that this couldn't be the reason; had it been as innocent as asking Regina about Henry's childhood, Neal wouldn't have kept it a secret from her. Neither would Henry. But she didn't ask. She sat there staring at Ruby until Ruby finally managed to get out what had been bothering her; what had brought her to Emma's doorstep in the first place.

"Regina and Neal were in a relationship."

Emma blinked at her, not saying anything. She tilted her head, as if she were thinking about the possibilities of what Ruby had said.

"Emma?"

"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "What did you say?"

"I said," Ruby told her unhappily, slowing it down, "Regina and Neal were in a relationship."

 _"Were_? As in past tense?"

"Yes."

Emma pulled out a nearby chair and lowered herself into it slowly. "You're saying that at one point, sometime in the past, Neal and Regina dated?"

Ruby bit her lip again nervously and sat down across from her. "It sounded quite a bit more serious than just dating, actually. She _cried_ , Emma," she added at a near-whisper.

Emma pinched the bridge of her nose and moved her hand up to hold her head as she leaned her elbow on the table. "Neal. Henry's father. My ex-boyfriend? And Regina?" She sat up straight again, slapping her hand against the table when she laid it down. "Ruby, that's not even possible. Neal didn't know the Evil Queen. We were talking about her the entire trip back and he didn't have any idea who she was. I would've known if he was lying."

"I don't think he knew," she said quietly.

"But how would that even be possible?" Emma asked again, shaking her head. "They could only have known each other in your guys' world. What?" she asked when Ruby immediately started shaking her head.

"They couldn't have known each other in our world. Neal went through the portal hundreds of years before Regina was even born."

"But they couldn't have known each other _here_ ," Emma said. She was almost starting to feel better. The facts didn't add up - Ruby must be mistaken. She'd heard them wrong, misunderstood their words. "Neal's never been to Storybrooke, and Regina can't leave town because of the whole memory thing."

For a split second, Ruby was nodding, thinking about the words, and Emma was relieved. This was all just a big misunderstanding.

But then Ruby sat up suddenly. "That's not true. Regina _can_ leave."

"What?!" That was certainly a new piece of information. Regina was more dangerous if she had the ability to come and go as she pleased without losing her memories.

Ruby nodded, but seemed to be lost in thought. "I'd almost forgotten it was so long ago. At least, I think it was long ago. Now that time is moving again, it's hard to place events on any kind of timeline."

"Ruby," Emma said irritably. She was getting off-track.

"Right. Sorry. Regina left town awhile back. At least, I think I remember that she took a short vacation. Like, in the 80's, maybe?"

"The 80's!" Emma put her face in her hands, pressing her fingertips into her hairline to ward off the growing headache. "Ruby, do you even hear how ridiculous that sounds? I met Neal in the late 90's. There's no _way_ Regina could have had any sort of relationship with him then. He would have been way too young."

Ruby grimaced. "Again, not actually true. I kinda heard some other things they were talking about, and it sounds like Neal spent some time in Neverland. Between knowing Regina and meeting you."

"Neal was in Neverland?"

"Oh." Ruby looked even more uncomfortable. "I thought that it would be something you already knew. I mean, that's where he spent all of that time before he came to this world."

Emma let her head fall onto the table and Ruby heard a muffled cry of frustration. When she sat up, she looked at Ruby, and there was a hopeless expression on her face. "Is everything in my life a lie?"

Not knowing what to say, Ruby instead reached across the table and patted Emma's hand.

They sat in silence for a minute and Ruby was just starting to wonder if she should get up and leave when Emma suddenly asked, "She was crying?"

Ruby was caught off guard by the out of the blue question, but she nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"I wish I wasn't. It was…weird. For so long, she's been this cold-hearted, twisted, evil woman; the Evil Queen. She was the enemy, but now…I don't know anymore. She hasn't seemed the same since the curse broke. Well, except when her mother was here. Adopting Henry…and then hearing her this morning. Emma – I've never heard anyone sound more heartbroken. I almost wouldn't have thought it was the same woman."

"So whatever they had between them," Emma thought aloud. "It isn't over."

Ruby shook her head slowly. "It definitely didn't sound over."

There were so many questions Emma had; when had they met, _how_ had they met, and how was any of this even possible? How could Neal have ever been with Regina? It couldn't be real. The likelihood of it was so impossibly small. But she knew Ruby couldn't answer any of those questions. "Thank you." She looked at the woman across the table. "I appreciate you telling me all of this."

Ruby nodded uncomfortably. She hadn't been sure that she wanted to tell Emma, but after talking with Granny and imagining the damage it could cause if Emma found out some other way, she knew it was the right thing to do. At least, she hoped it was. Seeing Emma fold in on herself had her second guessing the decision. But she and Granny had also been a little selfish. Witnessing the former queen's emotional collapse – or at least, hearing it – had shaken both of them. For years, Snow had told them about the wonderful woman Regina had once been, but had long since given up hope of ever bringing out again. To finally catch a glimpse of the Regina Snow had been describing was disconcerting to say the least. It had been extremely difficult not to run to her best friend to share the news, but she and Granny had agreed that Emma should have the right to decide whether or not to tell her parents before they found out on their own. It was rather private, but neither woman had wanted to see Emma blindsided.

Not that what had just happened was any different.

Ruby left a confused Emma and headed back to the diner, still trying to convince herself that telling Emma had been the right move.


	12. Intercepted

It hadn't even taken Emma a full hour. Ruby had left, and she'd promised herself that she wasn't going to overreact by storming off to find Neal and demand a fuller explanation. Another broken promise, she thought to herself as she drove through the town of Storybrooke, looking for her ex.

She felt betrayed, which she knew was ridiculous since she and Neal were no longer in a relationship, but she couldn't help it. She also knew that Neal had apparently had no idea about Regina or her connection to the other world – let alone her connection to Emma, but he'd figured it out and he hadn't told her.

That was probably what bothered her most, she thought. The fact that they knew _now_ – both of them – and they hadn't told her.

Looking for Neal was probably a bad decision in her current state of mind, she knew, but sometimes she wasn't a very reasonable person. Fortunately for Emma, she was saved from her lack of good judgment by a call from the Sheriff's office.

The job came first.

* * *

Regina sat at her desk, rifling through the many pages of financial reports she'd just printed out. The town had continued on, business as usual, but without a mayor for almost a month now, and it showed. It was messy, but fixable, and Regina sighed heavily as she realized how much work lay ahead. The town council obviously hadn't bothered to communicate with one another, and the budget was getting out of control. Each section was simply using what they wanted. Fortunately, the citizens of Storybrooke weren't especially greedy when it came to financial matters.

Uncapping her pen, Regina began taking notes on the various documents, jotting down ideas for how to stem the outflow of money that was now exceeding the inflow. She found herself missing her assistant – a coffee would be wonderful right now – but the financial reports had been waiting long enough and the girl had never come back to work after the curse had broken. Not that Regina blamed her; waking up one day to find she'd been working for the Evil Queen had probably been quite a shock.

It was about the third page in that the door to her office was suddenly thrown open, and a very upset Emma Swan stormed in.

"Ms. Swan," Regina greeted, raising an eyebrow. "This is a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of this early morning intrusion? Or did I simply fail to hear the knock that came before you broke the door down?"

"Cut the crap, Regina! What the hell are you doing back here? Someone called the Sheriff's office saying they saw you coming in."

"Good to see the people of Storybrooke have at least maintained their skill in observation." It was blatant sarcasm, but Regina was actually surprised by Emma's attitude. Before the whole Archie situation, she'd felt that some of the air between them had been cleared, and now that the cricket was back, she'd thought maybe Emma would actually be one of the few in town to see reason. Not having lived in the Enchanted Forest, she wasn't biased to everything like the rest of them, and she could even be a crucial part in putting everything back into good working order. That obviously was not the case.

"Is this some kind of joke to you?" Emma snapped.

"I can assure you," Regina said, rising to her feet, "the wellbeing of this town is no joke."

"Oh, so now you're suddenly concerned? After everything you've done?"

"I've run this town for twenty-eight years. This isn't some kind of new revelation. They asked me to step down, and I did, but no one else stepped up in my place."

"So you just thought you'd promote yourself without talking to anyone?"

" _Someone_ had to do something! The town was starting to fall apart."

"You just have a habit of taking what doesn't belong to you."

Regina narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on the desk so she could lean forward. "This isn't about me resuming my position as mayor," she guessed.

When Emma said nothing but continued to stare at her, Regina continued. "No, I didn't think so. So tell me – what's going on, Emma? You can't be talking about Henry; you gave him up for adoption. I didn't take him. In fact, if you recall, not too long ago, you took him from _me_. I've also lost my mother, so please, enlighten me as to just what it is you think _I've_ taken."

"Neal," Emma said quietly, momentarily losing her fight and cringing when her voice betrayed her by cracking on the name.

Regina pushed off the desk and stood up straight, wearing an expression of shock. She searched for something to say, but all that came out was "Oh." It was a pathetic response, yes, but she'd been caught off guard and didn't know what to say.

"Oh? That's all you have to say? Just, oh?" The anger was back, and Emma took a step forward. "What exactly is going on between you and Neal?"

Regina's mind was reeling. How could Emma know? Who could have told her about her relationship with Neal? No one knew, and Neal certainly wouldn't have told her. It was true that they had never fully discussed telling anyone about their relationship, but there was an unspoken agreement between them that it was still too soon. They were still figuring things out between themselves and they didn't need the extra drama of the whole town knowing.

Of course, there was Henry, but he only knew that they'd known each other before – nothing more. She could see Henry being so upset that he'd want to share the information with the woman he considered to be his real mother, but she didn't think he'd break his promise to Neal, even if he'd break his promise to her.

That left…

Regina's eyes darkened. "Ruby." It was the only explanation. She must have overheard part of her and Neal's conversation that morning and went and blabbed to Emma.

"How did—" Emma started, but Regina cut her off.

"Who else did she tell? How many people know?"

Through her rage, Regina could also feel her cheeks burning from the humiliation of realizing what else the waitress had overheard. Fortunately, it only added to the appearance of her anger.

"No…no one," Emma stammered. Their roles had quickly been reversed; Regina was now the angry one, and Emma was caught off guard, though she shouldn't have been. She scolded herself as she realized she should have thought about what would happen when she confronted Regina, but she hadn't been expecting to confront Regina at all when she'd climbed into her car half an hour before.

"And what about you?" Regina pressed.

"No…" Emma trailed off. "Regina, I swear, I didn't tell anyone. I wasn't even going to tell you that I'd found out. I meant to go straight to Neal about it. In fact, that's what I was on my way to do when I got the call about you coming here. I guess I just kinda lost it."

Regina sighed and lowered herself back into her chair. "Well, you're here now." She waved her hand in front of her, gesturing to the door that was still standing wide open behind Emma. "Would you mind closing that?"

Emma stared at her for a minute, not quite sure what to make of Regina's request. "Do you want me to leave, or..."

"No, you can stay. I suppose we should talk for a few minutes." She pulled on the lapels of her jacket to straighten it – a nervous habit. "Just not with the door open."

"Right." Emma moved carefully to the door, half-expecting Regina to suddenly explode on her again, but it didn't happen. She closed the door and made it to the seat across from the mayor without incident.

"How much do you know?" Regina started. Now that Emma knew, the conversation was inevitable, and she'd rather just have it over with now. It was either her or Neal, and she wasn't comfortable with the idea of Neal and Emma sitting down to have a chat. It had nothing to do with her trust in Neal, and everything to do with her insecurity that sooner or later, Neal would realize how badly Regina's lying had affected him and everyone else. He'd never betray her, but she didn't trust Emma fully, either. After all, not only were the two exes, they had a child together. And not just any child - Henry. Her Henry.

"I know that you love him," Emma started awkwardly. "At least, you did at some point. Though by the sound of it, you still do." She raised her eyebrows in question, and Regina nodded slowly.

"I do."

Emma was surprised by the honest answer. She'd expected Regina to dance around the question and play games, but she hadn't. She studied Regina and saw how tired she looked. Catching her eye, Regina tilted her head as indication for Emma to continue and Emma sighed. "I just don't understand. How do you two know each other? I mean - you're from Storybrooke, and Neal's never been here before, which means you must be able to cross the town border without losing your memories?"

Regina nodded again. "One of the benefits of being the caster of this curse - there were a few variables I had control over. I didn't limit myself to the boundaries of Storybrooke."

"Is that still in effect?" Emma asked cautiously. "I mean, can you still cross the border without consequence?"

"I would assume so," Regina told her, "though I can't say I've tried recently."

"Why'd you leave?"

Regina was surprised that so far, the main focus of the questions had not been Neal-related, though they were equally personal. "I guess I was just lonely."

Emma scoffed. "In a town full of people that you had control over?"

Regina's gaze hardened immediately and she leveled her glare at Emma. "Ms. Swan, once you've lived for years in a town where time is frozen and actions are repeated day in and day out, you can question my loneliness; after you've been treated with a sickeningly boring and empty respect because people are programmed to do so – not because it's genuine human interaction. Imagine…even people who are supposed to like you, do so begrudgingly, and nothing ever changes, no matter how you treat them, or the things you do. I was the only one for whom time moved forward, except it wasn't really moving at all."

Emma stared straight ahead, lost in her thoughts and not really seeing anything. "Wow." After the curse had broken, she'd vaguely thought about how odd it would be to be among those who'd been frozen for twenty eight years, but not once had she given a single thought of what it would be like to be the sole person who retained all of their memories. Twenty-eight years would have felt like a hundred. "Then I don't understand; if you loved him, and you hated it here, why'd you come back?" When she refocused on Regina, Emma couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw the start of tears in the woman's eyes.

"I didn't want to." She managed to keep her voice level so that the only betrayal of her heartache was her tears. "But the curse started to break."

"You mean after you left town?"

"Yes. It took almost a year, but things in Storybrooke started to fall apart without me here. People were starting to remember."

"So you came back, and you didn't bring Neal because you didn't know he was from your world." Emma was starting to piece everything together. "But would it have mattered? I mean, if you'd brought him back with you and found out that he did know about this whole other world, once he found out who you were, he might not have stayed, anyway."

Regina's eyes flicked down to the floor before they moved back up to meet Emma's. She didn't have to answer for Emma to know that this was something Regina was afraid of.

Emma shifted in her chair and immediately switched directions. "How did you two meet?"

Pushing back the fear that Emma had brought up and deciding to ignore the awkwardness of this conversation and with whom she was having it, Regina focused instead on the happy memories. Smiling, she started, "Well, I'd chosen to travel to New York, but I wasn't prepared for how large the city was. We didn't have anything even close back in our world. I was studying a map at the train station when Neal approached me. He insisted on taking me to my hotel, and then to dinner afterward." She laughed. "He was actually quite annoying."

Emma couldn't help but crack a small smile at the comment. It definitely sounded like Neal. "And you stayed for almost a year?"

Regina nodded. "Eventually, I moved in with him. But then I called Graham." The smile dropped from her face as memories of that last day in New York came flooding back.

"And you found out the curse was breaking."

She'd saved the curse from breaking, but had wound up breaking her own heart in its place. Again. That's how everything seemed to end.

Emma took in Regina's expression, her mind still reeling. "You really love him, don't you?"

"I do."

Emma slumped back in her chair. "Wow," she said again. "How did this happen?" she asked, not really expecting an answer. "How did we both fall in love with the same man out of all the men on the planet? It just doesn't make sense."

"I've been trying to make sense of it myself," Regina told her. "Do _you_ still love him?" she asked cautiously.

"Oh…no." Emma realized the source of the suddenly fearful expression on the Mayor's face. "No, no, no. God, no. You don't have to worry about that. Neal and I…what we had was never real, and It's definitely over."

"But it gave us Henry," Regina said, leaning back in her chair as well. She smiled.

"Yes, it did." Returning the smile, Emma stood up awkwardly, rubbing her palms on her jeans. "I guess I should let you get back to work."

"You mean you're going to let me stay in my office?" Regina asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah…I mean, the town is kind of a mess, isn't it? It might be good for it to have a mayor running things again."

"You think everyone will see it that way?"

"Does it matter?"

Regina laughed. "I'm here, aren't I?"

Emma shook her head in amusement. "You've got nerve, Regina – I'll give you that. Besides, I don't think they need to know just yet. My guess is, it'll take them a little while to figure it out. I doubt it'll go past putting in a call to the Sheriff's station." She turned and walked to the door, but paused with her hand on the handle. She still had questions for Neal, but somehow, her conversation with Regina had eased her mind. They hadn't talked much about everything, but Regina had shown a vulnerability that Emma had only ever seen when it came to Henry. There was obviously a deep history between her and Neal, and instead of making her feel jealous, she found herself feeling better about all of it.

She looked back over her shoulder and found Regina watching her calmly. "Umm, maybe we could talk more later?" She nearly fumbled over her words as she wondered what she was doing and rushed on. "We don't just have to talk about Neal. We could talk about Henry and maybe set up some kind of schedule so that he can spend time with both of us or something." She cringed at how all of it came out, and how childish she sounded, but when she opened her eyes, Regina was smiling.

"I'd like that."

"Alright, cool." She pulled the door open. "Well, uh, bye." She gave a small wave.

"Goodbye, Ms. Swan."

As Emma pulled the door shut behind her, Regina found herself smiling brightly. That had gone much better than she'd expected, and she now had hope of seeing Henry again soon. She hadn't planned on telling Emma so much, but after the last few days, she found she just wanted someone to know the truth. She wanted someone other than Neal to see the person she was underneath so that she could reassure herself that it wasn't just him deluding himself. If Emma could see traces of the person she was with Neal, it meant that it didn't just exist in his mind, and maybe there was a better chance that he wouldn't wake up one day and realize he didn't want to be with her.

Maybe she and Emma had more in common than they'd both realized, and if Regina ever had any hope of watching her son grow up, she knew that she'd have to find peace with Emma. And Emma had just made that seem much more possible than she had originally thought.

Regina returned to her paperwork, finding it easier to work her way through the mess now that her mood had improved. Maybe today would turn out to be a good one after all.


	13. Home

Regina sighed heavily as the door was thrown open for the second time that day. The last person she'd expected to find standing in the doorway was Gold, but she hid her surprise, instead leveling a cool and calm gaze at him. "I suppose this is for all the times I've walked in to your place of business unannounced?"

"Whatever it is you're doing will stop _now_ ," he hissed.

She tossed her pen onto the desk and leaned back. "Perhaps you can skip to the point. I'm rather busy today and I—"

"Don't toy with me, Your Majesty." He leaned forward on his cane, bending to level a menacing glare at her. "I know what you've been doing, and I want to know _why_."

With an irritated huff, she shook her head. "What are you on about?"

"Neal," he growled. "I saw you with him this morning."

This time, she couldn't hide the fleeting expression of surprise. Not only was it the second time that day that someone had burst into her office, it was the second time it was about Neal – the supposedly secret relationship she had with him. Apparently Gold had seen it with his own two eyes, and she remembered with a twinge of annoyance that she'd allowed herself a very public display of affection that morning, incorrectly assuming there was no one around to witness it.

Managing to check her emotions, she looked back up at him. "I hardly see how that concerns you."

"You don't see how…" he started at a yell and Regina nearly leaned back at the intense rage radiating from him, but she managed to hold her reaction down to a blink and the next second, Gold had stopped and was looking at her with a curious – and to her, very unsettling – expression. "You don't know, do you?"

This time she did lean her head back a bit, uncomfortable with the way he suddenly changed directions. Instead of anger, there was a true surprise, and just a hint of a taunting tone to his question. She swallowed heavily. "Know what?"

"What is the extent of your relationship with Neal?"

Regina's expression hardened. "None of your business."

"Do you love him?"

When he received only silence, Gold nodded, standing back up. "Well this is a twist I wasn't expecting."

"What do you mean?" she bit out.

"Oh, no, no, dearie. This is much too amusing. I came in here thinking you'd been playing me for a fool, but now I see that you truly are clueless as to what's going on. I think I'd much rather see how this plays out without my interfering; beyond what I've done already, of course."

He grinned that impish grin he had and Regina shivered, not liking his words one bit.

The truth was, Gold wasn't sure what to think about this new information. He'd thought Regina was dating his son because she knew it would torment him. To find out that she had absolutely no idea Neal was his son brought out so many questions; why had they started this relationship and when? Regina never left her house and Neal was always surrounded by someone – Henry, Emma, even Snow and Charming. And because of this, how was it that no one seemed to have noticed? He was sure that if they had, he would have heard something about it. Surely Snow and her prince would have been vocal about a relationship involving Regina, especially because it also involved the father of their grandchild. Then there was the one question he already knew the answer to, but which was still the most painful; how was it that Neal hadn't told Regina who his father was?

"I think it's time for you to leave," Regina told him, sitting up straight in her chair.

"With that, I agree. Enjoy your afternoon."

Regina was shocked when he turned and left without argument. She stared at the empty doorway for several minutes after the dull thump of his cane had faded to nothing. Nothing good could come from something that man found amusement in and she could feel the dread spreading through her. She stood abruptly, striding to the door and putting on her coat. The work day was far from over, but she'd done plenty of paperwork, and she knew she wasn't going to be doing anything else after what Gold had said. She needed to talk to Neal.

* * *

Neal was sitting in the living room, watching television when he heard the front door open and close. He muted the show, sitting up on the couch. "Regina?" A moment later she appeared, leaning against the doorframe. He glanced at his watch. "It's not even two yet. What are you doing home?"

She smiled, lifting her head from where it rested on the wood.

"What?" he asked, not able to hold back a small smile of his own.

"Home."

He looked almost embarrassed for a moment when he realized what he was doing. They'd only talked that morning, and here he was, sitting in her living room, watching her TV, calling her home his. He hadn't even asked if she minded whether or not he stayed while she was at work. "Uhh...I—" he started awkwardly.

"No, I like it." She pushed off the door and walked over to him. "Seeing you here like this is just like being back in New York. Well," she chuckled, glancing around. "A little fancier."

He relaxed back into the cushions as they eased into the familiar comfortable banter – and it was amazing just how familiar and comfortable it could be even after so many years.

"Hey, now," he said, raising a hand to his chest. "I'm offended by that remark. I decorated that apartment myself."

"You didn't have any decorations before I moved in."

"It was tastefully minimal."

She looked down at him with a soft expression and a hesitance about her that he immediately recognized as a silent question. He opened an arm to her in answer and she didn't waste another second before sitting down next to him, leaning into him as he wrapped his arm around her.

"It was perfect," she agreed.

"I have to say, though – I like what you've got going on here; a sort of home and gardens chic. Just the right mix of soccer mom and regal queen."

She laughed and shook her head against his shoulder, letting out a content sigh and lifting her legs onto the couch so she could curl them up next to her. "I missed you."

"No more than I missed you." He hugged his arm around her and rested his other arm on the armrest, settling in more comfortably and putting his feet up on the coffee table.

"What are you watching?" Regina asked lazily.

"Some old crime show reruns. You know…drama, action, little bit of comedy. Same old, same old."

"I happen to like same old," she told him.

"I remember. Well good, then. It was just starting to get interesting." He picked the remote back up and hit the mute button again, turning the volume up a few notches.

She'd come home in a near-panic, Gold's odd behavior fogging up her mind and driving her from her office hours before she'd meant to leave. His words had made her uneasy, and she'd felt the immediate need to talk to Neal. Neal, who after only looking at her and saying a few sentences had managed to soothe her without ever knowing anything was wrong. Neal who'd called it home.

Wrapping an arm around his waist and nestling her head in, Regina allowed her thoughts to be distracted by the story on the screen and the feel of Neal's arm around her. She could talk to him later.


	14. After School Snack

Emma followed Henry up the path, still not convinced that what they were doing was the right thing. She'd picked Henry up from school just like she had been doing since the curse broke, but this time, he didn't want to go to Granny's for ice cream or an after school snack, and he didn't want to go home, either. He wanted to talk to Neal.

"Hey, kid, hold up a second," Emma called out before they could reach the door.

Henry spun around to look at her. "Yeah?"

"I don't know if this is such a good idea."

"Neal promised he'd talk to me, but he got home after I fell asleep and he was gone when I got up."

"I just don't know if right now is the right—"

"I just want to talk to him. You don't have to come in if you don't want."

"But we're not even sure he's in there."

"Well you said he wasn't at the apartment, and he wasn't at Granny's, and you also said that he was probably here with my mom." He stood there looking at her with narrowed eyes, and Emma sighed.

"Yeah, I did."

"So then, what are you waiting for? He's probably inside with her."

"I just don't think—"

But it didn't appear to matter what she thought, as Henry had already started back up the walkway. "Are you coming or not?" he asked over his shoulder.

Emma huffed out an irritated breath and followed after him once more. This wasn't exactly where she wanted to be, but she wasn't about to let Henry step into a situation that he wasn't ready for and not be there for him. She at least wanted to make sure that there actually was someone home, and that Neal was willing to have the sit-down he'd promised his son. She didn't want to see Henry sidestepped, and she didn't want him to get hurt, something she still wasn't sure she trusted Neal with.

Henry knocked on the door and turned to face Emma. "Are you okay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, you just look a little…freaked out."

"I'm just hungry, it's fine." She brushed it off, waving her hands at him to get him to turn around and face the door again. "I'd be better if you'd let us go and get something to eat."

Henry ignored her and leaned over to look through the window. "I saw mom's car, so I know she's here, but I don't see anyone. Why wouldn't she come when someone knocked?" He turned around to face her, as if wanting her to answer the question.

Emma shrugged. "I don't know." She wouldn't come to her door, either, if the whole town hated her and would like nothing more than to see her dead, but she kept that to herself. "Maybe she didn't hear?"

Henry shook his head. "That's weird." He tested the doorknob, but as expected it was locked, so he set his bag down on the ground to rifle through it.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting my key."

"Oh – I'm not sure that's such a good idea…" Emma bit her lip, turning her head to look back down the pathway at the gate. She wanted so badly to leave, but she knew Henry's stubbornness, and she knew that he wasn't about to just let this go.

"It's fine – I live here…kind of." He gave her a kind of half-shrug as he stood up again, key in hand. "Mom?...Mom, are you home?" he called out, stepping into the entryway.

Emma tried not to think about any of the reasons Regina might not be coming to the door; especially if Neal _was_ in the house.

When there was no answer, Henry dropped the backpack by the door and made his way into the house, not bothering to kick off his shoes.

"Neal?"

Emma hesitated a moment at the doorway, but finally just let out a breath and stepped inside. She'd already come this far. She followed Henry slowly as he began a search of the downstairs.

It didn't take long, as the living room was the third room Henry stepped into, and he stopped in his tracks, not sure what to make of the scene before him. Neal was sitting in the corner of the couch with his legs propped up on the coffee table. He was fast asleep with his head back against the cushions - and the strangest part of it was that he had his arms wrapped around a similarly asleep Regina. His mom was curled up, legs tucked underneath her and head resting against Neal's chest, her own arms wrapped around Neal. And she looked peaceful – more peaceful than Henry had seen her look in a long, long time.

"I don't get it," he said, spinning around and almost colliding with Emma who was just coming up behind him.

"What don't you…oh." Emma laid eyes on what Henry had undoubtedly been confused by, and after the initial shock of how bizarre this situation was had worn off, she almost had to smile. They did look amazingly right together. To think of the two of them separately, she never would have put them together, but now – seeing them here like this – things were somehow starting to make a little bit of sense. "Maybe we should just let them sleep," she suggested. They looked so comfortable, and they must have been pretty deep into sleep not to have heard her and Henry come in. That, and she knew the kind of day they both must have had. Regina had already looked exhausted when she'd come in, and that had been early on in the day.

Once again, however, it appeared that what she thought made no difference. Her words went unheeded as Henry made his way over to the couch, standing over the couple.

"Mom? Neal?" This time they heard him and the pair startled awake.

It took a second for them to get their bearings, and it was Regina who looked up and noticed him first. "Henry?" she asked, still blinking the sleep out of her eyes as she tried to sort through her confusion. "What are you doing here, honey?"

"I came to talk to Neal," he said simply. "What are you guys doing?"

Neal sat up a bit, running a hand over his head to ruffle his hair a bit. "We must have fallen asleep."

"Well obviously you guys were asleep," Henry sighed. "I meant what are you doing like this? Together?"

Regina swiveled her legs so she could set her feet back on the ground and she leaned forward, resting her head in her hands for a brief second before she ran them through her hair, attempting to smooth it out. "Henry—" she started out nervously.

Neal placed a hand on her knee to stop her from continuing and looked up at Henry. "We were supposed to have a chat, weren't we, buddy?"

Henry nodded his head, looking a bit hurt.

"I'm sorry. You were asleep when I got home, and I didn't want to wake you."

"But what about this morning?" he asked. "You didn't even wait for me."

"I know…I'm sorry, Henry." He glanced up, noticing Emma standing in the doorway for the first time. "Emma—"

"Sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to intrude. Henry wanted to talk to you and he had a key, so he just…I'm sorry."

Regina ignored the awkwardness between the pair and looked at Henry. "How would you like to have that talk now?" she asked him. "The three of us?"

"Really?" Henry asked, a little disbelievingly.

"Really."

"Yeah, okay…that would be cool."

Regina looked back up at Emma. "Thank you for bringing him by, Ms. Swan." For once, the words were not sarcastic or dismissive – they were genuinely grateful.

"I…you're welcome. I'm gonna go, just uh…give me a call if Henry needs anything, I guess. I can pick him up later."

"Thank you." Regina gave her a small smile as she left, still in a bit of a daze.

Neal looked at her in confusion. "What was that about?" he asked. "How are the two of you suddenly getting along? And why is she not more surprised by this?"

Regina glanced at Henry who was looking back and forth between the two of them, his jaw hanging open slightly as he tried to take in everything that was going on. "Why don't we talk about that later?" she suggested.

"Right… of course. Why don't you have a seat, buddy?" He patted the cushion between himself and Regina.

When Henry hesitated, Regina gave him a warm smile. "I'm happy you're here, Henry."

He only looked at her. "You never answered my question about why you guys are here together. Does it have something to do with what you were telling me last night? About you guys knowing each other before?"

"It does," Neal nodded. "Are you sure you don't want to sit down?"

Regina watched her son's face and knew the reason he hadn't taken a seat was not because he didn't want to, but because the only available one was next to her. Henry still felt on edge around her and it caused a sharp pain in her heart. She ignored it, giving him another option. "What if we went in to the kitchen to talk? We could all have a seat in there and I bet you're hungry, hmm?"

Henry nodded slowly. "Sure."

He was the first to leave the living room, and Neal watched Regina as he stood and then helped her to her feet. "He loves you, Regina. He just needs a little bit of time."

"Right," she said half-heartedly. Neal hadn't been around for the last year to see the decline of her relationship with Henry; the way he'd slowly been poisoned against her by the book, and then the way that she'd proven it all true with the horrible mistakes she'd made – first in giving that turnover to Emma, only for Henry to eat it himself, and then more recently when her mother had come to town and she'd allowed herself to revert to her old ways. She didn't blame her son for not trusting her, but it didn't take away the pain of knowing the boy she'd raised – her baby – hated her.

She smiled at seeing Henry already seated at the table when she walked in, and for a moment she could almost pretend that this was a normal day when he'd come home from school and she'd prepare him an after-school snack. Going straight to the fridge, she pulled out a few things and put together a ham and cheese sandwich with lettuce and tomato. Setting the plate down in front of him, she smiled when he looked up at her in disbelief.

"You never let me eat a whole sandwich when I get home."

"Well, yes, because I never wanted you to spoil your dinner. But you're a growing boy, and I doubt Ms. Swan serves dinner at six."

Henry shrugged and took a large bite of the sandwich. Regina was about to admonish him about bitesize, but he sighed happily as he started chewing, closing his eyes at the flavor, and she just couldn't bring herself to scold him. She turned to Neal instead. "How about you? Would you like anything?"

"I'll be fine with a light snack," he said, picking up an apple from the bowl on the counter and rubbing it on his jeans.

Henry watched in slight horror as his father took a decent sized bite out of the apple, chewing it loudly and swallowing it with a smile. "What are you doing?" he asked, after he'd managed to swallow his own bite. He felt guilty a moment later when a flash of pain lit his mother's eyes, but Neal just looked at him.

"Eating an apple. These are delicious, by the way," he told Regina. "Where did you get them?"

"My tree," she said quietly.

"Still have that green-thumb, then, huh?" he asked with a smile. He took another bite and walked to the table to sit across from Henry.

After another minute of watching Neal eat the apple, Henry finally started in on his sandwich again. Regina watched the two of them from her place leaning against the counter, not wanting to interrupt the semi-relaxed air now that everyone was back to eating. When Henry had finished, she moved in and took the plate, carrying it to the sink to rinse off.

"Thanks, mom," Henry said shyly.

"Of course."

Neal slipped in next to her, throwing away his apple core and rinsing off his hands. "It's going to be okay," he said quietly in her ear, resting a hand on her back.

She was grateful when she felt his hand slide once again to her own and she squeezed it briefly, seeking support before releasing it as they both joined Henry at the table.


	15. Let Me Explain

Henry drummed his fingers on the table and bit his lip, waiting for one of the adults to start speaking.

Regina looked over at Neal, wishing they'd had time discuss how they wanted to go about this, but she knew they'd had it – she'd just avoided it because she was dreading the conversation and she hadn't wanted to think about it until she absolutely had to.

"Henry," Neal started, and Regina flashed him a grateful look for being the one to start. "This probably won't make sense to you, so I'll explain it the best I can, and then you can feel free to ask any questions you want, okay?"

Henry nodded mutely.

"Your mom and I…well…several years ago, we dated."

Henry's eyes became saucers. "What?!"

"It wasn't too long after the curse had been cast. Your mom came to New York, and—"

"You went to New York?" he interrupted curiously, looking at Regina.

She nodded. "I did."

"But why?"

Sighing, she looked at him. "I was lonely, Henry. Interactions with people in Storybrooke weren't real, and after so many months of repetition and days full of false conversations and forced pleasantries, I couldn't do it anymore. I needed a break – a change of scenery."

"I didn't know you could leave Storybrooke. I thought you were stuck here like everyone else?"

"No. I never lost my memories of our past lives, so crossing the line never affected me the way it does the others. I was under a different kind of curse."

Henry, not taking notice of the sudden sadness in her tone at her utterance of the last sentence, pushed forward. "Then how come we never left town?"

Neal, however, noticed the shift immediately. Her words from just that morning were still fresh in his mind – for her, it hadn't been a choice. She saw Storybrooke as a cage; one which, if she attempted escape, could burst and destroy the entire world around them in the process. It was far too soon to try explaining that to the ten-year-old in front of them. Instead, he raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Do you want to hear the story or not, kiddo? I promise you'll get a chance to ask whatever questions you want – _after_ we finish explaining."

Henry nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. Sorry."

"It's okay," Neal reassured him. "It's just a long story, and some of the answers to your questions wouldn't make sense without hearing the whole thing first."

"Okay."

"Alright. So, your mom left Storybrooke for a while and came to New York. That's where I met her. We were at the train station, she was studying a map, and I stopped to help."

"More like you stopped to harass," Regina told him, smiling.

"Hey…I was very gentlemanly," he defended. "In an irritating, but charming way. I've been told it's one of my more attractive qualities."

"Well that might be true," she told him, playfully mocking him, "but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good one."

"I take offense to that!" he scoffed, shaking his head. "Your mom is mean," he told Henry, but he was smiling.

Henry just stared at him with wide eyes. Nobody ever joked like that with his mom. If they even tried, she'd immediately shut them up with one of her icy glares.

"Well, regardless of how charming or annoying I was," Neal continued, "I ended up being your mom's unofficial tour guide for New York. We spent a few weeks exploring the city together before it turned into something else. Your mom and I both realized that we'd grown closer, and though we'd become friends, we both wanted something more. It evolved pretty quickly from there, and before I knew it, she was moving in with me."

Henry scrunched his nose at the thought of the two of them together. "You guys were in love?" He couldn't bring himself to picture it; it seemed too far-fetched. And anyway, Neal was supposed to be with Emma, not his mom.

"Were? Kid, I never _stopped_ loving her." He looked at Regina with the warmest smile Henry had ever seen on him and she reached over, taking his hand. Henry could see there were tears in her eyes as she smiled back at him, both of them seeming to forget for a moment that Henry was there.

"Ummm...sooo…"

Both adults blinked to look back at Henry, pulled out of their moment by the sound of his voice.

"So, you guys are still...you still love each other?"

Neal looked at Regina. "Oh, yes."

She hummed happily as she met his gaze. "Yes."

"But then, what about Emma?" He focused again on Neal, distress clouding his expression. "I mean, you guys dated. You had me."

"All true. But that came much later. Regina and I were together for almost a year before things changed."

"The curse was breaking," Regina explained, jumping in and trying to ignore the pang caused by Henry's upset. "Without me in town, everything was starting to fall apart and people were starting to remember."

"So you left?" he asked incredulously. "You thought that the stupid curse was more important than Neal?"

Regina shook her head, a sad laugh escaping. He was so much like Neal, it was easy to see they were father and son. "Of course not, Henry. I loved him more than anything – which is part of the reason I felt I had to come back. I thought I was protecting him. If the curse had broken then, people would have been able to leave Storybrooke. There would have been nothing to keep them and magic from spreading out to the rest of the world. I didn't know back then that he was a part of this world, too."

"So you really didn't know who each other were?" Henry asked curiously.

"No," Neal told him. "I left that world long before your mom was even born. I didn't know anything about the Evil Queen or the curse or any of it until I met August years later."

"Huh?" Henry's nose scrunched up again in confusion. "How could you have left before she was born? You're not _that_ old."

Neal chuckled. "Thanks, buddy. But actually, I'm much, much older than your mom."

"But mom's already really old because of the curse freezing time. I mean..." he trailed off uncomfortably, noticing Regina's wide eyes. "Sorry, mom."

"Well it's true," Neal told him, stifling his laughter. "I'm quite a bit older."

"Then how do you look so young? You weren't in Storybrooke during the curse. And how did you stop aging before the curse had even been cast?"

"Actually, my age has nothing to do with the curse. I spent a lot of time in Neverland; many lifetimes – a time that I don't really like to look back on."

"You were a Lost Boy?" Henry's eyes brightened in excitement, but Neal shook his head discouragingly.

"Neverland isn't what you think it is. Trust me – that is a place you never want to go to."

"Really?" He looked skeptical. Peter Pan had always been one of his favorite stories – it had pirates, mermaids, islands, adventures, and of course, the alluring thought that one was free to always be a child without fear of reproach.

"It's not like how it is in the movies, buddy. It's a dark place. Pan is cruel, and the children there are miserable. The Shadow keeps anyone from escaping, and that I know of, I've been the only one to leave without needing Pan's permission – and it wasn't easy. You've been so lucky, Henry. Your mom loves you; both of them do. Regina raised you well, and I can tell that you have always been well-cared for." When Henry looked down at his fingers twisting mindlessly in his lap, Neal sighed. "Henry, you have no idea how wonderful your childhood has been. The other children in Neverland would have given anything to be in your place. That is a dark part of my past – one that I don't like to talk about. But I escaped, and I grew up, and then I met your mom. I'd never understood love like I did when I was with her. I didn't only tell you about Neverland so that you'd understand how time was frozen for me; I told you so that you'd maybe be able to understand what I'm about to say. Henry, when your mom left and I thought I'd never see her again, I went back."

"To Neverland?" Henry breathed, and Neal nodded.

"It was the only place I could think of that would distract me. There were so many dangers there, so much darkness, that I barely had time to think of anything else. Even then, I'd still dream about her. It took years before I felt ready to come back to this world without being wholly consumed by the pain of losing her." He took a deep breath at the horribly conflicted expression on Henry's face. "I know this is a lot, especially for someone as young as you, but I need you to understand me. You're much smarter than other kids your age – I learned that quickly about you – but there's so much that you don't know yet, and I wanted you to know how much happiness being with your mom gives me. I loved Emma, too, but it was different. It hurt when we were separated, but when I thought I'd never see Regina again, it nearly destroyed me. I lost my hope and I nearly lost myself. We're here now; we're together, and I can still hardly believe it's true. I keep expecting to wake up and find that it's a dream."

Henry glanced between the two, noticing they were lost in their own moment again. Regina had tears streaming down her cheeks and when Neal reached out to wipe them away, she held his hand to her face, leaning into it.

"I'm real," she choked. "This is real."

He pulled his hand away, bringing one of hers with it and kissed it. "I'm glad." Remembering Henry again, he turned to face him. "I know that you still have things you need to work out with your mom, and you and I are still getting to know one another, but I can't leave her again. Do you think you can eventually be okay with that?"

"But..." Henry looked hopelessly lost and on the verge of tears. When he spoke, his sentences came out rushed and awkwardly jammed together. "But you know who she is now. You know she's the Evil Queen. Now that you know what she did to everyone, how can you still want to live with her? How can you want to love her?"

Regina stood up from the table suddenly, her chair scraping noisily on the floor as it slid back.

"Regina," Neal called, reaching after her as she moved toward the door. Her arm slipped through his grasp, but he managed to grip her hand.

She shook head, not turning to look at him so that he wouldn't see the anguish she could feel washing over her.

He noticed anyway, but let her go, understanding that she felt the need to hide just how much the words had hurt her.

Henry looked at Neal guiltily after his mom disappeared and Neal tried to tamp down the anger he felt bubbling. "You can't talk to her like that."

"I didn't mean to hurt her feelings, I just..."

Henry floundered for words, looking distraught and confused, so Neal stayed silent, waiting for him to figure out what he wanted to say.

"You were right about mom raising me," he started finally. "We were really happy. And I loved her a lot. But when I found out about who she was, I started thinking that she'd lied to me my whole life. Not just about the curse and the world you guys are from – about loving me. I thought she was only pretending to love me."

"That's not true at all," Neal said firmly. "I know your mom loves you more than anything. That's why it hurts her so much when you say things like that. She was never pretending."

"I still love her, but...I...sometimes I feel like I shouldn't. Now that the curse is broken and everyone has their memories, I know that it all was real. Everything she did in the book is true. She's the Evil Queen."

"That's exactly what you have to understand, though. She _was_ the Evil Queen, but that's not who she _is_. Not anymore. She's your mom; she's the Mayor of Storybrooke. She's just a woman who wanted to live a normal life; who wanted a second chance. There's something you have to know about your mom. She loves more deeply than anyone I have ever met. Love that true can't be faked. It's true that she's given her love to very few, but that only means it's that much bigger. She's had a hard life, and she's been hurt. When people go through things like your mom has, it changes them. It makes it harder for them to trust anyone. But she's changed, and is _still_ changing. You have to see that."

"Yeah," Henry said quietly. "She was better before her mom got here."

Neal nodded. "I have to say, I don't know a whole lot about Cora, but I imagine that whole situation had something to do with trust and love, too. I'm sure she'd talk to you about it if you asked. She loves you, Henry. She wants to earn your trust back. You should give her that chance."

"I really love her, but I feel like I'm not supposed to." Henry told him, looking down again. "Do you think…" he trailed off, but then looked back up, this time meeting Neal's eyes, and there was light in them again; hope. "Do you think that if we show other people that she's changing, they'd stop hating her? Maybe even…maybe even let me see her a little more?"

Neal's heart broke at the question when he realized what was really happening with Henry. He was struggling to come to terms with right and wrong in the world he'd been thrown into, but the rules had changed before he had even started, and he was drowning in the expectations he'd placed on himself as the child of the savior, as well as the expectations placed on him by others without them even knowing they'd done it. He was living with people who saw things in black and white, and though they didn't mean to, they were relying on Henry to follow in their path. Henry was trying his best to be good; to help everyone around him in the wake of the broken curse, but everything was such a mess, and underneath, he was still just a child who wanted his mother.

He wouldn't allow his son to continue being as miserable as he now understood him to be; no matter what anyone else said. "You can always see your mom whenever you want, Henry, and I bet it would help her even more. In fact, I'm sure of it. Besides," he said, feeling the need to lighten the mood for Henry's sake, "I bet if everyone saw the same Regina that you and I see, they couldn't help but like her a little, too, hmm?"

Henry smiled. "Yeah, I think so." He stood up, looking ashamed. "I'm gonna go say sorry. Do you think she'll forgive me?"

Neal patted him on the back as he, too, stood, leaning to pick up the dishes. "Knowing your mom, you don't need forgiving , but it would mean the world to her to hear you say it." He hesitated before his next words, not wanting to burden Henry with too much guilt. "She could use some reassuring. Tell her the truth – tell her how much you love her."

"I will." He paused at the door. "Hey, Neal?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for taking care of her."

"She's strong; she's always been able to look after herself."

"I know, but…you make her feel better – the way that I used to. I'm glad."

Neal gave him a smile. "You do make her feel better, Henry. You'll see soon enough. Now get up there!" he added on a more teasing note, flinging the dish towel at him.

Henry let out a small laugh, relieved to feel the tension in the room disappear. Without another word, he ran upstairs to talk to his mom.


	16. Sorry

He'd started out at a run, but by the time he'd reached the bottom of the stairs, he'd slowed considerably. He nervously climbed them, for once not taking them two at a time. It was something his mom was always on his case about, yelling at him to be more careful. Now that he was taking her advice, she wasn't even there to see it. Instead, she was waiting for him at the top. He was afraid to see her, and with each slow step, he felt more and more guilt press down on him. He hadn't been thinking when he'd said the hurtful words, but now – after the fact – they were replaying themselves over and over in his head, and he cringed. They'd been cruel, and his mom didn't deserve that from him. It was only now that he heard how they sounded, and it made his steps even slower. What was he going to say to her? What could he possibly say that would make it better?

He stopped in his tracks as he reached the landing. Even through the closed door, he could hear his mom crying. It terrified him. Regina Mills didn't cry. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd heard her cry this way and still have fingers left over. And this time, he'd been the cause. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of her door, raising his hand to knock.

"Mom?" His voice was quiet and timid, and when her cries continued, he knew she hadn't heard him. "Mom?" he called a little more loudly.

When there was still no answer, Henry tried the handle. It was unlocked, so he cautiously pushed the door open and moved his head to peek inside. His eyes immediately went to where his mom was sitting on the edge of the bed, bent over with her face in her hands. Without another thought, he rushed to her side, throwing his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, mom."

For a moment, Regina stiffened. She hadn't heard Henry open the door, and when there was suddenly a pair of arms around her, it took her by surprise. For a split second, she thought it might be Neal, come to comfort her, but before she'd even looked up, she realized the arms were too small. Hearing his words, she wasted no time in wrapping her arms around him in return.

"I love you, mommy," Henry cried as her arms settled around him, and he hugged her even more tightly. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, baby." It had been a few years since she'd done it, but Henry was still relatively small for his age, and Regina pulled him up into her lap, cradling him against her. "Shh," she whispered gently. "Shh. It's okay. It's alright."

Through the haze of his tears, Henry thought it was strange how he'd come up here to comfort his mom, and instead, she'd ended up comforting him. Even more proof that she wasn't the woman he'd accused her of being.

"I shouldn't have said what I did," Henry told her adamantly. "You're my mom and it doesn't matter that you were the Evil Queen. I'm sorry."

Regina began rocking him slowly, and he closed his eyes as he felt her fingers running gently through his hair.

"Henry," she started. "You have nothing to apologize for. I did something no mother should do – I lied to you. I didn't tell you the truth, and instead of doing it to protect you, I did it to protect myself, and you were hurt in the process. I'm the one who is sorry. I love you so much, and I promise I'll never do anything to hurt you that way ever again. I know nothing I do can ever make up for the past, but I will never stop trying to be better."

"But you were a really good mom!" he argued. "You taught me everything, and we were happy. You cooked the best food, and you tucked me in every single night, and when I had nightmares, you always knew exactly what to do to make them go away. Sometimes you were really strict, but I know it's because you wanted what was best for me. Just like why Emma gave me up. She wanted what was best for me, and that's what I got."

Regina let out a sob and rested her head on Henry's, her tears falling into his hair. "Do you really think so?" she asked, and the disbelief in her voice tore into Henry.

"I do." He opened his eyes then, pulling his head away just enough to look up at her and ask, "Mom…can I come home?"

"Of course," she said softly, her voice breaking. She leaned forward, placing a kiss to his temple, whispering, "You can always come home."

When she finally pulled back, Henry leaned against her once more, his head resting on her shoulder. "Do you think they'll let me?"

She stiffened; _they_ meant the Charmings, and she'd be damned if they stopped her from being with her son. Still, they were his family, too, and she didn't want to break the sudden peace she'd found with her son with angry words. The truth was she feared that exact scenario. If they didn't want Henry back with her, they'd put up a fight, and she'd surely give them one. But at what cost? If she hurt any of them, Henry would never forgive her, and her victory would mean nothing; she'd still lose her son.

"Mom?" he asked, fear creeping into his voice. She'd been silent a long time.

Putting aside her dark thoughts, she lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. "I honestly don't know, Henry. Your grandparents…well, we've never seen eye to eye. We have such a large and complicated history, I'm not sure they'd ever feel comfortable letting you come back to live with me. But maybe…" Her mind drifted to Emma and the recent, surprisingly civil conversation they'd had, ending with the promise of more understanding. "I'll talk to Ms. Swan. I believe she and I can work something out."

Henry shifted a bit. "And I can still see her, too?" he asked in a small voice.

She placed a hand under his chin, lifting it so that he'd look directly into her eyes. "Henry, I just promised you that I wouldn't ever put my needs before yours again. Emma and I may have had our…differences…but I know that she's an important part of your life now, and I won't keep you away from her."

"Really?"

Brushing her thumb gently across his cheek, she finally dropped her hand. "It's a promise. Besides, I believe Ms. Swan and I may finally be agreeing on a few things."

Henry looked shocked, but didn't question her further. Instead, he slid off her lap, shuffling over on the bed so that he was sitting in the center of it. "Will you tell me a story?"

Regina looked at him in surprise. "You haven't asked me to tell you a story in a long time. Not since before you found the book." She cleared her throat and quickly moved on when she saw the flash of guilt in Henry's eyes. She hadn't meant it to make him feel badly. "Which story would you like to hear?"

"One of yours," he told her, looking up at her cautiously. "Not from the Enchanted Forest, though," he hurried on, not wanting her to close up. "From this world. Maybe one with my dad in it?"

Another surprise. "Are you sure? I know that you don't like that the two of us are together."

He traced the pattern on the duvet distractedly, not meeting her eyes. "Maybe I don't, but I think it's something I _could_ be okay with. It might even be kinda cool…my mom and dad together. Do you think you could tell me about what he was like when you met?"

She smiled affectionately, glancing down to where his fingers were still moving. "I think I could definitely do that," she told him. Pulling herself up so that she could lean back against the headboard, she reached out an arm. "Come here."

Henry crawled over to her and nestled into her side as she wrapped an arm around him. Once he was settled, she took a deep breath.

"Let's see…where should I begin?" she asked herself. "Your father was extremely persistent; wouldn't take no for an answer. When I first met him, I couldn't wait to get rid of him. He was annoying and extremely forward, but eventually he wore me down. He had a point; I'd never been to New York before and I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going and he'd offered his help. It wasn't like I knew anyone else, so I finally accepted. I took him to dinner that first evening as a thank you – on his suggestion of course – and I found that he was actually a very pleasant person to talk to. He continued to show me around the city and we grew closer. He was a big child," she laughed. "Always telling jokes, comic books all over his apartment, and he would embarrass me in public in the most wonderful ways."

"Like how?"

"Hmm, well one time we were eating dinner at a pizza place that happened to have karaoke. Your father excused himself under the guise of using the restroom, but then the next song started, and—"

"No way!" Henry smiled. "Neal can sing?"

She shook her head. "Not at all."

"So why'd he do it?" he laughed out.

"For free pizza. The deal was, you sing a song, you get a slice."

"He embarrassed himself just for a piece of pizza?" Henry asked, scrunching up his nose.

"Oh, no – he wasn't embarrassed. He couldn't have cared less. I, on the other hand…"

"And was he singing to you?" Henry giggled.

"Of course!" she cried, smiling widely. "That was his other reason for doing it. He loved drawing attention to the fact that we were together."

"But you liked that, didn't you?" Henry twisted to look up at her, smiling.

"Maybe," she said and raised an eyebrow. "Deep, deep, _deep_ , deep down."

"He sounds like he's really fun."

"Oh, he is, Henry. And I know that you and he will get along famously. You're very much alike; definitely father and son."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

On the other side of the door, Neal had been about to knock on the slightly ajar bedroom door, but he lowered his hand, smiling. It sounded like things were going well between the two, and he didn't want to interrupt their moment.

An hour later, when the pair still hadn't appeared, Neal traveled back up the stairs to check on them. When he was greeted by silence, he poked his head through the door to see that they'd fallen asleep. They'd slid down so that Regina's head rested on the pillow and Henry was curled against her, head resting on her shoulder. Neal quietly moved into the room, picking up the spare blanket at the end of the bed and draping it over them. He moved in to place a soft kiss to the side of Regina's head and brush a stray hair off of Henry's face. Regina hummed and Henry smacked his lips a few times before nuzzling more deeply into his mother, but neither woke and Neal smiled. This was a moment he never wanted to forget.

Taking one last look, he moved back out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him.


	17. Let's Eat

Regina woke slowly in a state of confusion. It was dark, and she couldn't remember falling asleep. There was a weight on her and when she looked down, she found Henry lying against her with his arm flung over her and his head on her chest. She smiled, bringing a hand up to run through his hair, taking a second to revel in the feeling of being able to cuddle with her son. He mumbled in his sleep and her smile widened. She sighed happily, and when she breathed in, she caught the scent of a cooking. Apparently, Neal had started dinner.

Stretching, she turned to glance at the clock and was surprised to find it was already eight. "Henry?" she called softly, and when she rubbed a hand over his back, he mumbled a few incoherent words.

"It's dinner time, darling. And we'll need to call Ms. Swan. I'm sure they're worried about how long you've been away."

Henry frowned a bit in his half-asleep state and when he slowly blinked his eyes opened, he looked around at his surroundings. "Mom?" he asked, and he looked up at her with disbelief.

"Yes?"

Taking her by surprise again, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Henry." She stroked his hair softly. "Is everything okay?"

"It is now. I'm just really glad we got to talk." He let her go and sat up in the bed, and when she followed suit, he turned to sit cross-legged facing her. "I missed you," he told her, looking down into his lap.

She tapped his chin lovingly with her finger to get him to look up at her. "I missed you, too," she told him. "You know that you can talk to me whenever you'd like? Any questions you have, problems you need help with…anything. I'm always here for you."

"I know that," he said shyly. "…now."

She smiled sadly at him with her hand resting against his cheek. "Always," she reassured. "No matter what."

Neither of them noticed the door swing open, and Neal smiled at the sight in front of him.

"Good! You guys are awake," he said, looking between them. "I was just coming to let you know that dinner…is served." He bowed deeply and gestured in the direction of the doorway.

Henry laughed as he crawled off the bed. "You're weird."

Neal made a face at him. "Hmm. I wonder who else we know that fits that description?"

Henry stuck out his tongue.

"By the way," Neal told him as he headed for the door. "I called Emma to let her know you were staying awhile."

"Thank you." Regina leaned in to give him a quick kiss. "And dinner smells amazing. You haven't lost your touch."

"You guuuys!" Henry whined, covering his eyes. "That's gross. You _just_ told me about dating – you're not supposed to do things like that in front of me."

Neal laughed. "Sorry, buddy. We can try to keep the PDA to a minimum, but I make no promises."

"Unless it really bothers you, sweetheart," Regina said quickly, looking worried. "I know you're not really sure about your father and I being together, and if you want us to stop, or if you feel uncom—"

"Stop, mom. It's fine." Henry sighed. "Yeah, it's weird, but I want you to be happy. Don't stop 'cause of me. Just…" he scrunched up his nose. "Don't do it in front of me so much. You're still my parents, and that's gross."

Regina smiled and kissed his forehead. "Thank you."

Neal turned to Regina with a grin once Henry was on his way down the stairs. "Did you hear that?" he asked excitedly.

She nodded, an immense feeling of warmth flooding through her at her son's approval. "We've got his blessing."

"No – I mean…yes…we got his blessing – but I was talking about how he just called us his parents."

Regina stilled and looked at him with dawning realization. "You're right. He did."

"You and me," Neal told her, reaching for her hand and giving it a squeeze without breaking eye contact. "We're his mom and dad. That's what we wanted a long time ago, remember? Children? A family?"

She nodded tearfully.

"We had that horrible goodbye, and all of those years apart, but we still got it. A little unconventionally, but you raised my son. You were my son's mom. I still can't believe it. Thank you."

"For what?" she asked, her brow wrinkling in confusion, and he couldn't believe how much she doubted herself.

"For raising Henry," he told her, as if it were obvious. "I didn't even know he existed until a month ago, and when Emma told me she'd given him up for adoption, I wondered who'd raised him; tried to imagine what his childhood had been like, how his parents were with him. But now I don't have to, because I know it was you, and I know how much you wanted children. I don't have to wonder if you loved him, because I know you love him more than the whole world, and I saw his room; he never wanted for anything. You've been a wonderful mom, and I have so much to make up for with him. I don't know that I'll ever be able to forgive myself for missing so much of his life, but at least I know he was okay. More than okay."

She leaned into him and her head fell to his shoulder when he wrapped his arms around her. "You really feel that way?" she whispered.

His heart ached to realize that he was probably the only one who'd truly acknowledged the role she'd played in Henry's life. "Absolutely."

"Are you guys coming?" Henry called impatiently from down the stairs. "I'm starving!"

They both laughed, and finally, Regina pulled back. "He gets his insatiable appetite from you."

"Can't say that's changed, either," Neal admitted, grinning. "Which is why I made extra.

She laughed as they started down the stairs. "It really does smell amazing."

"Yeah, well I hope it tastes as good as it smells. I haven't really cooked anything since '85." He gave her a lopsided grin. "You weren't around to impress, so I've mostly been living on bachelor food."

"Neal!" She swatted his arm. "That's unhealthy, and extremely lazy of you. We're going to have change your habits."

Just before they reached the doorway to the kitchen, he pulled on her elbow to get her to stop and turn around. "I'm okay with that," he told her, and tugged her into him, giving her a much more passionate kiss than they'd shared in front of Henry. He hummed when he pulled back. "Had to get one more in before we're with the kid. Not kissing you is gonna be torture."

"I can hear you, ya know," came Henry's voice from around the wall.

Regina bit her lip through her smile and Neal raised his shoulders in a wincing smile. "Oops."

* * *

After a full dinner, and then ice cream for dessert, Henry grew quiet.

"What's the matter?" Regina asked him, sensing something was wrong. He'd put his elbow on the table and had his chin resting in his hand with a lost expression on his face.

"I don't know, I just…I guess after being gone for so long, it felt good to be back, and I kinda don't want it to be over," Henry admitted. "I want to stay here with you guys."

Regina looked over at Neal sadly, but he didn't seem to share her feelings. Quite the opposite, he started to smile, and just as she started to feel hurt by his reaction, he turned to look at Henry.

"Well it's a good thing I told Emma we were having a sleepover, then, isn't it?" he asked.

Henry lifted his head in surprise. "You did?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "You started this afternoon pretty angry with us, but I know you got to work out a few things with your mom. You guys fell asleep, and I wasn't sure when you'd wake up. Besides, I figured once you did, you might want to hang out and have some fun after we all had to be so serious."

Henry jumped up from his chair and rounded the table to throw his arms around Neal. "You're the best!" he declared happily.

"You're forgetting to thank the lovely woman who will be hosting this sleepover," Neal pointed out, and laughed when Regina raised an eyebrow at him.

Henry paid no attention and immediately crossed to his mom, wrapping his arms around her from behind and leaning around to kiss her cheek. "Thanks, mom! Does this mean we can make our special cookies and watch a movie even though it's late?"

She smiled and reached her hands up to hold his arms in place. "I think that sounds like a good idea, don't you?"

Henry nodded enthusiastically. "This is going to be the best sleepover ever!"


	18. Tomorrow

"It's nearly two!" Regina exclaimed, looking at the clock up on the wall in surprise. "How have we managed to stay awake this long?"

"Well, you did have a decent nap earlier," Neal pointed out. "Both of you. Cheaters." He let out a large yawn, and Regina gave him a pitying cluck of her tongue.

"Poor baby." She leaned over, kissing his cheek and Henry rolled his eyes. "But, I would have to agree. I believe it's time for bed."

"Aww!" Henry whined. "Do we have to?"

She chuckled. "We've played four games, watched two movies, and eaten far more cookies than we should have. Surely that's enough for one night?"

Neal grinned. "And it's not like we can't have more fun tomorrow."

"We can still hang out?" Henry asked eagerly.

"Of course," Neal agreed, "but in order to have any fun tomorrow, we have to get some sleep." He caught Regina's eye over Henry's head and winked.

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Henry dropped his shoulders. "Fine."

He allowed himself to be ushered up the stairs, Regina and Neal turning off lights as they went.

"Teeth," she reminded when Henry made a beeline for his bedroom.

"But it's so late!" he protested. "And I'm tired. Can't I just do it in the morning?"

"You're tired _now_ , hmm?" she teased. "And just a moment ago, you were fighting to stay up longer."

"She's got ya there, buddy. Come on – quick brush and then maybe we could read one of those awesome comics of yours before you go to sleep."

Henry looked pleadingly at his mother. "Can we, mom?"

She smiled at the look of excitement, not just on Henry's face, but on Neal's as well. "I think that sounds like an excellent idea."

"Will you come say goodnight before we start?" he asked, and she felt her eyes water.

"Of course. I'll be there shortly."

"Okay, good."

Neal followed her to the room and sat on the bed as she changed in the closet. "Today went well," he commented.

"It did."

"Rough start, but he ended up taking it better than I expected."

"Henry's a loving boy."

"He gets that from his mother," he said as she emerged, and she dropped her eyes. "You can join us, you know. I'm sure Henry would love for you to read a bit with him."

"No," she declined. "This is your time. You need it. It's good for the two of you. Besides – comic books," she scrunched her nose. "Never my thing. I love them because Henry does. I've read many over the years – you can have this one." She smiled at the end, trying to keep things from growing too heavy. "He's always wanted a father. I'm glad that you found one another."

"I'm a lucky, lucky man to have found the both of you. I'll never take that for granted." He leaned up to pull her toward him. "I still can't quite figure out how it happened."

She bent her head down so their noses were touching. "As long as I have the both of you," she breathed, "I don't really care." With that, she closed the barely existing space between them, bringing their lips together.

All too soon for his liking, she pulled away again.

"Our son is waiting for us."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

"Knock, knock."

Regina looked up from the book she'd been reading to find Neal standing in the door.

"Hey." She smiled. "How'd it go?"

He pushed off the door and took a few steps toward her. "Great. He's got a fantastic collection."

"Don't look at me," she chuckled. "I told you – not my thing. He picks them out, I just pay for them."

"He told me you started his collection for him."

"Did he? I suppose I chose a few in the beginning just to get him started."

He took a seat on the edge of the bed, resting a hand on her thigh. "So how'd you pick 'em?"

"Mmm," she hummed. "Well, I once lived with a guy who was very interested in them."

"Should I be jealous?" he asked.

"Nah," she told him, smile spreading. "You're safe. For now," she added, eyebrows raised before she let a laugh escape.

"Oh-ho!" He leaned forward and so did she, meeting him for a kiss. "I love you," he said sincerely when they pulled apart. "And I hope you know I'm not letting you go again. You're stuck with me this time."

She closed her eyes with a light smile. "I want that to be the truth. But I feel like it's me who should be assuring you that I won't leave again." She opened her eyes to find him watching her intently. "I'm just afraid something will get in our way again."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But that's life. We can't live in fear, we just have to live. Now," he pulled back and stood up, "I think that's enough serious discussion for one night. You're still awake, but I'm exhausted, and it's time this old man headed off to bed."

They both chuckled and he turned to go, but she stopped him, calling his name. He turned around to find her lifting the comforter up and folding it back on the other side of the bed. "Sleep here tonight?"

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I think we've both spent enough time apart for a lifetime."

"For a few." He swallowed, losing himself in her deep brown eyes. "Alright." He peeled off the jacket and top shirt he was wearing, leaving just a plain grey tee. Then pulled his pants and socks off, kicking them all off into a pile in the corner, leaving just the shirt and his boxers.

She put her book away and settled down into the pillows, and he flicked off the light. She felt the bed dip a moment later as he slid in behind her. He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him.

"How are you tired even after two naps today?" he asked her in amazement as he felt her relax against him.

She hummed tiredly, her words coming out with a slight slur as she answered him. "Long day. And you make me sleepy."

He scoffed in mock offense at her answer. "Glad you find me so tiring."

She turned over under his arm so she could look at him. "While you can be a big kid at times," she told him rolling her eyes, "that's not what I meant." She looked at him meaningfully. "With my past being what it is, sleeping has never come easily for me. But you have a way of taking it all away. You make me feel like I can actually sleep. Peacefully." She raised a hand between them to cup his cheek. "Just promise you're going to be here in the morning when I wake up."

"I will if you will," he told her.

"I promise," she said, looking between his eyes. She leaned up slightly – enough to kiss him before she settled back into the pillows. "I'll see you tomorrow."


	19. Coffee and Salad

Neal jerked awake at the sound of the alarm while Regina only groaned. She was still wrapped in Neal's arms, facing him and she reached a hand up, blindly stroking at his chest. "You alright?" she mumbled.

"Why was the alarm set?" he asked. He lifted his head enough to look over the top of hers and see the alarm clock. "Six-thirty?" he cried. "Why?!"

She sighed and opened her eyes. "Work."

"No way! Regina, you only went to bed four hours ago. You can't be serious."

"It's a weekday."

"You're not going to make Henry go to school today, are you?"

"Of course not," she shook her head on the pillow. "He needs his sleep." She stretched and sat up, starting to pull herself out of bed, but Neal pulled her back with a whine.

"So why do _you_ have to go in?"

She laughed at his puppy dog look. "Because Henry's only missing a spelling test and I'm the mayor. I'm still playing catch-up and I can't afford to slack off. Now let go," she laughed, smacking at his hand. "I have to start getting ready. You should go back to sleep. I was thinking you and Henry could spend the day together."

"That would be great! Do you think he'll want to?"

"Without a doubt. He's been spending lots of time with you anyway."

"Before he knew I was dating his mom. He might worry I'm stealing you away." He smirked.

"Oh be quiet!" she told him, trying not to smile. "I'm going now."

"Wake me up before you leave?" he called as she shut the bathroom door.

"I will."

Neal flipped over, pulling a pillow over his head as he settled back in for sleep. "Six-thirty," he grumbled. "The woman's insane."

* * *

There was a small breakfast crowd in Granny's by the time Regina stepped in for a coffee. There was no way she was going to make it through another stack of paperwork without some serious caffeine.

People looked up as she stepped through the door and watched her warily as she walked up to the counter.

"You look dressed for the office," Granny commented as she sidled over.

"Your point?"

"Didn't the town ask you to step down as mayor?"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Again…your point?"

After another moment of silence, Granny tapped the counter. "So…what'll it be?"

"Coffee. And make it very large and extra hot."

"Planning for a long day?"

"There's a lot of clean up to be done. Apparently the town didn't think through their idea of removing the mayor."

"That why I haven't heard a damn word about my neighbor over there making a fuss about property lines and threatening to knock over my fence?" She chucked a thumb behind her. "He hasn't shut up about it and I'll be damned 'fore I take it to Gold."

Regina studied her. "Complaining about property lines?"

Granny huffed a breath. "Turned in a complaint two weeks ago. You think the old bastard would have better things to worry about with the curse broken."

Regina tilted her head a bit with a quick shrug. "You'd be surprised," she said flatly. With a considering look, she asked, "Are going to have them remove me from office again?"

"You gonna fix my neighbor problems?"

"Do you deliver hot cups of coffee to Town Hall a few times a day with a salad for lunch?"

"We do now." She handed Regina her coffee.

Regina took a sip of the burning liquid and hummed her appreciation. She moved to the door, but on a last thought, turned back. "Hold the dressing today."

Granny waited for the door to close behind her before she barked out a laugh.

* * *

"Neal! Neal!"

Neal woke for the second time that morning with Henry tugging insistently at his sleeve.

"Neal! Wake up!"

"Hmm?" Neal rolled over to face him, blinking the sleep out of his eyes at the sight of Henry's concerned face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm really late for school! Where'd my mom go? She usually wakes me up when I sleep through my alarm."

"Relax, buddy. You're mom's the one who turned your alarm off this morning. She's okay with you missing school this once. She thought we could hang out today instead."

"Oh." Henry's shoulders lost their tense look and he settled back onto his heels from where he'd been leaning forward in his anxiousness. "Cool. So how come she's not here?"

"She went into work. But we're gonna meet up at the diner tonight for dinner when she's all done."

"Did she say if she was gonna talk to Emma?" he asked nervously, biting his lip.

"No, but I'm sure she'll tell you when she does. And knowing your mom, it won't be long. She doesn't like to put things off."

"So…uh…what are we doing today?"

Neal glanced over at the clock and was relieved to see it was ten. "I approve of your wake up time. Still a tad early, but manageable. I was thinking breakfast of epic proportions, and then you could take me on a tour of your favorite places in Storybrooke? Of course, a stop for ice cream is mandatory, so you'll have to allow time for it in your schedule."

Henry grinned. "Awesome!"

"Give me a few minutes to splash some water on my face and I'll meet you downstairs."

When Henry raced off, Neal pulled himself to his feet. He stretched, pulled on his jeans and stepped into the bathroom, letting out a large yawn as he went. He opened his eyes to find a bright sticky note stuck to the mirror above the sink. In Regina's elegant scrawl, it simply said, 'Be sure to feed him something more than ice cream.'

He rolled his eyes and pulled the note off. Instead of crumpling it, however, he rubbed his thumb over the familiar slant. Not the same notes on the map of New York over and over again until he'd memorized every word. This was something new; something that again reminded him Regina was back in his life, and he smiled, bringing the note up against his chest.

"Are we having eggs or pancakes?" Henry called from the hallway, and Neal was pulled from his thoughts.

He smiled, setting the note aside. "How about both?" he called back.

Splashing water on his face, he laughed when he heard a muffled, "Yes!"

* * *

Regina leaned her elbows on the desk and put her head in her hands. She was surrounded by piles of paperwork and the morning caffeine had officially stopped working. It was exhausting work and she could feel a headache coming on.

She'd found Granny's paperwork, at least, which was now sitting on top of the pile to her left. It was the first order of business for after lunch – whenever that was going to be.

Just then there was a timid knock on the door.

Regina's head snapped up in anticipation. "Come in," she called. She took a second as the door opened, pinching the bridge of her nose to ward off the pain. "Just in time, I was about to—" She opened her eyes and was surprised to find her former receptionist standing in the doorway with her lunch. "Annie."

"Mayor Mills. I mean…Your Majesty." She ducked her head slightly, her eyes dropping to the floor.

Regina stood, watching her in shock for a moment. She finally cleared her throat. "You don't need to call me that. We're not in the Enchanted Forest anymore." She saw Annie give a slight nod, but then her eyes remained on the floor. "I haven't seen you since the curse broke. You're working at Granny's now?"

At that, Annie's eyes raised as she nervously met Regina's gaze. "I…I…" She stammered.

"It's alright," Regina told her, unable to watch the girl squirm anymore. "I understand, though I could use having you here. Things turned into a bit of a mess after I was removed from office."

Annie's eyes roamed over the stacks of paperwork on the desk and the file boxes on the floor, and the hand with the bag of food dropped to her side as she took a small step forward. "This is all from the last month?" she asked quietly.

Regina hummed and nodded, looking around at the piles before focusing on the coffee in Annie's other hand. "Seems you're still stuck with the task of bringing me coffee and lunch."

Annie jumped slightly and hurried the rest of the way in, remembering her original task and holding the food and coffee out to her. "Sorry," she apologized.

"No need." She took the food and coffee, setting it on the only clear space left on her desk. She watched as Annie once again scanned the room, eyeing the amount of work scattered throughout.

"Do you…" she swallowed a lump in her throat. "I mean, would you like me to stay a little while to help?"

"You certainly don't have to do anything you don't want to do," Regina started. "But…I wouldn't' mind if you did."

Annie looked at her and then shrugged her jacket off after a moment of contemplation. "Where do you want me to start?"


	20. Need An Assist

It had been three days. Three days of Henry sleeping in his room, of Neal sleeping next to her, of spending evenings and meals together, and of being at ease; which is why Regina felt the tugging sensation of guilt. She'd kept the truth from Neal about Gold's threat, or at least, of his implication that something would go horribly wrong.

She'd kept it in for selfish reasons, she'd admit, but it had been so quiet and…normal. There had been whispers about them eating together, but miraculously, those who had a more intimate knowledge of what was going on between Henry's biological father and adoptive mother had kept it to themselves. Emma, Gold and Henry were the only ones who knew and each had their own reason to keep it a secret. Emma because she wasn't eager to be questioned at length by everyone about why _she_ and Neal weren't together. Gold because he was up to something. Henry because they were his parents, and he was still adjusting to the truth himself, not in a hurry to have others asking his parents about their choice in being together. With the rest of the town, there was only speculation as to why – if Henry wanted to spend time with all of his parents – Emma wasn't among the group.

The office was starting to shape up as well. The majority of the town was still none the wiser to her resuming her position, and she was able to return to her work in peace; except at lunch. Each day since that first, it was Annie who knocked on the door, fresh coffee and lunch in hand. Each day she stayed a little longer to help.

"Doesn't Mrs. Lucas mind your absence?"

Annie looked up from where she sat on her knees, leaning over a few folders she'd been marking and sorting. "What?"

"You've made quite a dent here, but all on the clock of your new job. Doesn't she mind your afternoon absences?"

Annie shrugged. "She hasn't said anything."

Regina raised an eyebrow at that. "Really?" she asked skeptically. She found it hard to believe the hard-headed, hot-tempered old woman hadn't mentioned it. Unless she was up to something.

Annie shifted a bit and looked up at her. "Really. Why? Did she say something to you?" She suddenly looked nervous again. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble, I just…"

Regina held her hand up, shaking her head. "Relax. There's no trouble."

Annie went back to her files when Regina was clearly finished speaking, and Regina watched as the girl once again lost herself in the work.

* * *

"You sent her on purpose, didn't you?"

Granny looked up from the log she was reviewing on the counter to where Regina had suddenly appeared. "Excuse me?"

"Annie. You sent her to deliver my lunches instead of anyone else, even knowing she'd left her job as my assistant. Why?"

"She missed it," Granny said simply.

Regina looked at her with narrowed eyes. "She stopped coming to work when the curse broke. I didn't fire her."

"Well can you blame her?" Granny asked. "She woke up to find the Evil Queen had been her boss for twenty-eight years. I think it's safe to say that'd be a shock for anyone."

"So if she was so afraid, why would you send her?"

Granny looked at her over her glasses. "I told you. She missed it. She may have been afraid, but she's too hard a worker for a place like this. Don't get me wrong – I love having her here – but she's been bored. And it seemed like you could use her again. She's been happier these past few days. I think because she looks forward to the second half of her day now. She wasn't meant to be a waitress. You should consider hiring her back."

"How can I hire someone if I'm not even technically Mayor?"

"If things are such a mess, what makes you think anyone would notice? Besides, when has that ever stopped you from doing what you please?"

Regina smirked. "True." Her smirk fell and Granny was surprised to see the flicker of doubt that crossed the woman's face. "What if she doesn't want to come back?"

"Then she doesn't, "Granny shrugged. "But trust me – that girl misses you."

Straightening her jacket, Regina stood up straighter. "You can expect to be one waitress short starting tomorrow."

"Good." Granny picked up her log book. "Now leave. I'm busy."

Regina scoffed. "Crone."

"Witch."

Regina found herself smiling as she exited the diner.

* * *

Neal dropped Regina's keys into the dish by the door and moved up the stairs. "I'm back!" he called, readjusting the bag of groceries he had hugged to his side. He rounded the kitchen doorway to find Regina stirring a pot on the stove as Henry looked on from the stool he was perched on. He allowed the contentment at the sight to roll over him. This was his family. His father was nothing but a disappointing memory.

"And my car—" Regina started.

"Is in one piece. Not a dent or scratch to be seen," he assured with a chuckle. He ignored the whisper of conscience in his mind that urged him to share his past, and his paternity, with Regina. There was no need to ruin such a perfect evening with unpleasant truths. They would still be true and unpleasant tomorrow.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Good. Did you remember everything on the list?" she asked, reaching for the bag.

He pulled it back out of her reach. "Of course I did. That's why there was a list. So little faith, I'm offended," he pouted. "You realize now that if you want these, you're going to have to make it up to me somehow."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You do know this is for dinner, so you're only punishing yourself by not handing over the grocery bag."

He shook his head. "There's always Granny's."

"Fine." She stepped up to him, biting back a smile. "I'm sorry that I've offended you. Will you please give me the bag?"

"Nope. Not good enough."

She leaned up, giving him a full kiss on the mouth. "I'm really. Really. Sorry," she told him, punctuating her words with more kisses. "Can you forgive me?"

He hummed, tilting his head in thought, then stole another, deeper kiss from her. "I think I can manage, yeah."

"Seriously?" Henry whined. "You guys _know_ I'm here, right?"

The couple laughed, and Regina plucked the bag from his grasp, going back to the pot and giving it another stir before beginning to pull things out and set them on the counter.

"What's for dinner?" Neal asked, leaning over to try and get a peek at what he was smelling. Whatever it was, he had no doubt it was going to be delicious.

"Not telling," she smiled over her shoulder at him. "It's a surprise."

"She won't tell me, either," Henry told him with a pout. "But there's definitely some kind of crazy soup with a bunch of stuff in it."

Regina laughed at that. "Aren't you supposed to be doing your homework?"

Henry shook his head. "Already done."

"What's this?" Neal asked, pointing at him, but looking at Regina. "It's not even seven and the kid's already done with his homework?" He looked down at Henry. "You definitely did _not_ get that from me."

Henry shrugged. "Mom always has me do homework first so that we have time to do things together later. Plus, it doesn't really take that long."

Neal shook his head and laughed. "Show-off." Turning to Regina, he asked, "So how was your day?" He leaned against the counter next to where she was working. "Are things going any better?"

She nodded. "We're almost finished organizing everything and getting it back to the way it was."

" _We_?"

Though it was Neal who'd asked the question, Regina looked at Henry when she answered. "Annie's coming back."

"Really?" Henry perked up at that, sitting up straighter on the stool, his eyes sparkling.

"Who's Annie?"

"Mom's assistant," Henry quickly provided, before Regina could even open her mouth. "She's super nice. Mom had her pick me up from school sometimes and I'd hang out with her while I waited at the office for mom to finish working. She disappeared though, when the curse broke. She's been at Granny's, I get to see her sometimes, but it's not the same. How'd you get her to come back?" he asked, looking back at Regina.

"I ordered lunch," she said simply. At Henry's confused expression, she elaborated, "I didn't really do anything. I ordered lunch from Granny's, Annie was the one who delivered it, and when she saw what a mess everything was, she offered to help. I asked her this afternoon if she'd like her old job back, and she accepted."

"That's so cool!" Henry cried. "I have to come see her. Can I have lunch with you tomorrow?"

Regina laughed. "I think we can manage to make that work."

"Yes!" He looked over at Neal then. "You have to come, too! You're not busy, are you?"

"Hardly. I spend my days waiting for you and your mother to get home," he told him. "It will make it so much better to get to see you both in the middle of it."

"You spend _every_ lunch with me," Henry pointed out.

"Fine, that's true. But tomorrow, you'll have Annie, and I suggest you pay as much attention to her as possible, because I intend to have your mother all to myself," he joked. "Which means more kissing."

Henry made a face at that, but then shrugged, already moving on. "Can we go to Granny's for dinner tomorrow?"

"You can't possibly say you didn't enjoy dinner tonight – I haven't even finished making it. Why Granny's?"

"It's not that," Henry told her quickly. "Your cooking is awesome, mom. Everyone knows that. I was just hoping…I don't know…maybe we could meet Emma and Grandma and Grandpa there?" he asked hesitantly. "Grandma mentioned they were having a sort of family get-together and thought I should ask if we could come, too?" At Regina's expression, his face fell. "It's okay. We don't have to go. It was just an idea."

"No, hey." Regina set down the spoon again to lean over the counter and lift his chin so he was looking at her again and not into his lap. "We should go. We're all your family and you should be able to spend time with all of us. We'll go." She glanced over at Neal questioningly, understanding that it could be equally awkward for him.

He nodded quickly. "Absolutely. I'm sure it'll be nice to have everyone together for once." He grimaced awkwardly at her when Henry looked down again, shrugging his shoulders, but cleared his expression before the boy looked back up.

"Are you guys sure?" Henry asked, still sounding hesitant.

"Yes," Regina answered resolutely. "We're going. That's that."

Henry finally allowed a smile. "Okay. Awesome! This'll be really cool."

"It'll be really _something_ ," Regina said to herself, too quietly for him to hear as she went back to dinner. It looked like she was going to be having a few glasses of her famous cider tonight with dinner. If only she could take it with her to the diner.

* * *

When lunchtime drew nearer, Annie looked at her watch and stood up. "Should I fetch something from Granny's?" she asked, looking over at Regina. Regina was pleased to note that the girl had grown slightly more comfortable in her presence. It seemed Granny had been right in assuming the girl missed working in the office.

"Actually, I've made other plans for lunch today. It's being taken care of."

"Oh?"

Right on time, there was a knock on the door, and when Regina called out for them to enter, Neal strode in, bag of food in hand and a grinning Henry trailing behind him.

"Annie!" Henry called out.

"Hey, Henry!"

He hurried across the room and threw his arms around her. "I missed you!" he told her, and she laughed lightly.

"We've seen each other at Granny's."

"I know, but it's not the same," he told her, just as he'd told his parents the day before. "I'm really glad you're back!"

She smiled down at him, but her eyes were on Regina when she said, "So am I."

Regina smiled and then turned her attention to Neal. "What did you bring us?"

"Homemade subs," he told her, setting the bag down on the desk. "I thought everyone could benefit from a little more of my culinary skills."

"I thought you were still warming them back up after years of disuse," Regina teased.

"I didn't hear any complaints the other day about my dinner."

"It was delicious!" Henry reassured.

"Hmm, it wasn't bad." Regina rounded the task and leaned away from Neal when he playfully swatted at her.

"Wasn't bad," he muttered, but was smiling broadly. "You'll be eating those words along with your sandwich today."

Annie looked between the pair curiously, and when Henry caught her watching, he took her hand and pulled her toward his parents.

"Annie, this is my dad, Neal. Neal, this is Annie."

"Pleasure to meet you," Neal said, reaching out a hand to shake Annie's. "I've been hearing a lot about you in the last few days."

Annie chuckled, but the look of confusion remained. "I'm sorry, I'm a little surprised, I didn't know…" She trailed off, not really sure what to say. _I didn't know Henry knew who his father was,_ and _I didn't know you were in the picture_ didn't seem quite appropriate.

Neal seemed to sense her dilemma and laughed a little. "We were all surprised. I wasn't in Henry's life until recently. He and Emma found me in New York several weeks ago, and that was the first time we'd met."

"He's been staying with me and mom," Henry said excitedly, not realizing the implications that came along with that statement.

Annie's eyes were immediately drawn to how close Regina and Neal were standing to one another, and how their eyes quickly locked before darting away again. She could have questioned them on it, she could have satisfied her curiosity, but she didn't. Instead she smiled at Henry. "That's great. I'm glad you're getting to spend time together."

Regina visibly relaxed when she realized Annie wasn't going to interrogate her about her personal life.

Not one to miss a beat, Henry picked up a sandwich from the table and held it out to Annie. "This one's for you. I made sure Neal made your favorite," he said proudly.

"Thank you!"

He picked up another and looked up at her. "Can we eat at your desk like we used to?"

Annie smiled, but then looked up at Regina questioningly. "Maybe we should eat in here with your mom and dad?"

"That's alright," Regina told her. "Neal and I have a few things we need to discuss anyway."

"You might call it a very important meeting," Neal said with a grin.

Henry rolled his eyes and let out a small noise of disgust. "Come on, Annie. Let's go."

Annie threw a confused smile over her shoulder as she was pulled from the office. Henry made sure to pull the door shut firmly behind him.

* * *

They paused right outside of the door. "I don't know if I can do this," Regina told him.

"Yes you can. Henry told you that he already talked to them about you coming, and I'm going to be with you the entire time."

"That's part of the problem," she told him, then wined when she realized how that sounded. "Not that you'll be with me - I'm always better when you're with me. It's just that this - us -" she gestured between them, "is still a secret. There are only a few people who know about it, and I'm not anxious to be at the center of the town's gossip."

"Aren't you already?"

She tipped her head in acknowledgment. "This is different. I can handle the things they say, but I don't want them speculating about my love life. I don't want them to turn on you."

He smiled gently at her. "I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry about that."

"I know. I still don't like it."

He moved the hand resting on her back in a few soothing circles. "We don't have to tell them anything you don't want them to know." He sniffed in the cold evening air. "It's a little bit freezing, and the sooner we get in there, the sooner we get this dinner over with."

She leaned into him a bit, resting a hand briefly on his chest and touching her forehead to his shoulder. "Okay." She straightened. "Let's go." She opened the door with a flourish, not one to back away from a situation because of fear.

The diner was full and loud, and Regina was glad when there was only a slight lull at their entrance. She was also grateful that Neal had dropped his hand from her back as they entered, understanding her reasons for wanting to keep their relationship under wraps for the time being. She took a steadying breath when she spotted the Charming family sitting at a table just off to the side.

"Regina," Snow greeted. "We weren't sure you were coming."

"Henry invited me," Regina said rigidly. "Of course I'd come."

"Right." She looked oddly at the pair standing in front of them, not sure why they had come in together. "Would the two of you like to join us? We've been waiting to order dinner."

"You didn't need to," Regina snapped irritably. "No one is stopping you from eating."

"Mom," Henry sighed exasperatedly, and Regina sealed her lips together.

"We thought it would be the polite thing to do." Snow looked tense. None of them were happy to be in the situation, but they'd all agreed to go along with it for Henry's sake.

David leaned in after Neal helped Regina remove her coat and the two of them had taken their seats. "I'm curious," he said. "The two of you seem to be together a lot lately. Emma refuses to say anything about it, which makes me think that something is up."

"Is that so?" Regina asked.

"It's so."

Henry looked back and forth between all of his family members, wondering if he'd made the right choice having them all in the same place so soon after the curse breaking and Snow killing Cora. "I'm kind of hungry," he said, trying to break the tension that had set in. "Ummm, is it okay if we eat?"

"Of course," Regina said quickly. "I'm sorry, Henry."

As they looked at their menus, Regina felt Neal's hand resting on her thigh. She placed one of her hands over his and give it a light squeeze.

Dinner went downhill from there.

"So, Neal, what have you been doing with yourself?" Snow asked. "I must admit that, even though you're not staying with us anymore, we expected to see more of you."

Regina wasn't sure whether Snow's knowing look at Emma made Neal, Emma, or herself want to die more.

Neal stammered gallantly through an explanation, but there was no reprieve. Decades and curses had not sufficed to beat the nosiness out of Princess Snow White. Neal endured question after question until Emma couldn't take it anymore.

"Regina," she blurted while her mother took a breath, "I've heard that things are running better over at Town Hall. Any idea why that could be?" Emma gave a sly grin to the other woman. She knew very well that Regina was back in the mayor's office, and this was as close as she would come to admitting her gratitude.

Regina almost smiled and responded, but David jumped in.

"Regina, the rumors aren't true, are they? You're not back in the mayor's office, are you? The people have a right to be out from under your tyrannical rule after nearly half a century of it. Snow is the rightful queen, and the people should have their true monarch."

Regina went still as the familiar rage coursed through her. All evening she'd been swallowing her dinner around the hatred that bubbled up every time she even looked at Snow-unable to repress the memories of what that girl had done and cost her-but these accusations from the upstart shepherd-consort-king were the last straw.

She laughed. The horrible, mirthless laugh that echoed against the sudden silence in the diner.

The laugh that none of them had heard in twenty-eight years.

The laugh that Emma, Henry, and Neal had never heard at all.

Snow, Emma, and Henry's eyes were as round as saucers, and Neal felt sick at the transformation he'd just witnessed in the woman he loved. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he could feel the mood of the diner hanging on the edge of a blade-a blade that could come down on Regina's neck.

"Henry," Neal's voice boomed like an over-actor in a local theatre production, "I still think you're pulling my leg about this 'real Quidditch' you keep talking about. No way is there a sport based off the books where you run around holding a broomstick."

Henry, stunned from the glimpse of his mother as others' saw her, was still his parents' child. He quickly caught onto Neal's ploy. The only way his entire family would make it out of this dinner-this dinner that was his idea-alive was for him to talk.

"No, it's true!" Henry protested with animation. "You have to try to carry the quaffle, too . . ."

For the next thirty minutes, Henry explained the rules of real life Quidditch to Neal. The only interruptions in his monologue were leading questions from Neal and interjections from Emma, the only actual Harry Potter fan at the table.

The three deposed monarchs sat in stiff silence, but Regina felt herself relax by minute degrees at the enthusiastic interaction of her boys.

That didn't stop her from wanting to cry with relief when Henry let out a noisy yawn. Snow had set the dinner much later than Henry was used to, and with the long day he'd had anyway, he was obviously exhausted.

"Hey, kid, are we calling it a night?" Emma asked, before Regina could say anything.

He pouted a little, but then nodded his head. "I guess so. I'm pretty tired." He looked up at Regina. "Is it alright if I stay with Emma tonight?" he asked a little timidly.

Regina could feel the intense gaze of Snow and her prince, but she ignored them, eyes only for her son. "Of course," she told him. "Do you need anything from home?"

He smiled, letting out a breath of relief. "No, I still have some pajamas at the apartment."

It worked out, Henry wanting to spend the night with his other mother, because as the evening had progressed, Regina realized she didn't want to keep Gold's visit to herself anymore. She'd kept it in long enough, and she needed to talk to Neal.

Snow and David were watching her in shock, and even Emma looked slightly surprised, though not nearly as much as she would have been just a few short weeks before.

They all stood from the table, and Regina opened her arms for Henry when he stepped up to her for a hug.

"I love you, Mom," he said, squeezing her tightly.

"I love you, too." She kissed his head and clung to him until he took a step back.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked and she smiled and nodded.

Snow turned to Neal. "Will you be coming back to the apartment with Henry?"

Trying not to look to uncomfortable, Neal shook his head. "No, uh...actually I have somewhere else I'm staying. I figure I'm going to be in Storybrooke for a while so I should get settled."

"Of course." She nodded, but she and David shared a look. "Well, goodnight."

They all went their separate ways, and Regina didn't let herself relax even slightly until the Charmings were out of sight and she and Neal were back in her car, alone. There was still a long night ahead.

* * *

Regina stood in the doorway of the master bath, frowning as she watched Neal read a book, cross-legged on the duvet.

He seemed to sense her gaze and looked up. Catching sight of her expression, he tossed the book off to the side and sat up a little straighter. "What's up?"

She bit her lip and then let out a heavy exhale. "Tonight was terrible, and I want nothing more than to crawl into bed with you right now and forget it ever happened, but there's something else that's been weighing on me lately."

"Come here." He patted the bed next to him and waited patiently as she crossed the room to join him. "What's been bugging you?"

"I've just had this feeling that something is going to go wrong. Something between us. Whether it's because of something we do or someone or something that gets in the way...ever since…Someone came to my office the other day to pay me a rather unpleasant surprise visit. He'd seen us outside the diner the day you told me about what happened after I left New York. He knows about our relationship, and he implied that it wouldn't last."

Neal shook his head, a confused smile playing lightly on his features. "Regina, who cares? What could a stranger possibly know about our relationship? This man, whoever he is, was just trying to get under your skin. Don't let him."

"That's the thing." She looked down. "It wasn't just a stranger. It was Rumplestiltskin. I don't know if you know anything about him, but he's rather good at predicting the future. And he and I don't have a very good history between us." She looked back up to find him staring at her, a few shades paler than he'd been just a few seconds before. "Neal?" she asked in confusion. "Are you alright?"

He shook his head, raising a hand to run it through his hair.

When Neal still hadn't spoken after a few moments, Regina felt the worry and guilt twist sharper in her stomach, wishing she'd mentioned it sooner, or maybe hadn't mentioned it at all. "Neal?" she asked hesitantly. "What is it?"

He finally looked up at her again, and she didn't like the expression she saw there at all.

"Rumplestiltskin is my father."


	21. The Sad Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I have written, so there won't be another chapter until I finish the next one. I'll try my best not to take too long with it!

"What?!"

"Rumplestiltskin's my father."

"No, I actually heard you," she said, closing her eyes and leaning back. "I was just hoping that somehow it was wrong, or that I'd misunderstood."

"How is it that you know my father?" Neal asked, not really sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"How I know your father?" Her expression was incredulous. "How is he _your father_?!" She stood up from the bed, beginning to pace in front of him. "How can he be your father and you not have said anything this entire time?"

"When your father is the Dark One, you don't exactly go shouting it from the rooftops. And I didn't think who my father was would matter to you."

"It matters!" she practically shrieked. "He's Rumpelstitskin."

"You haven't answered _my_ question yet," he told her, trying to keep his patience. "How is it you know my father?"

She stopped her pacing abruptly, turning to face him. "He was my teacher." She bit her lower lip for a second before dropping her gaze to the floor, seeming to gather her strength as she took a deep breath and looked back up at him. "He's the one who taught me magic."

Neal leaned back at the implications of that statement. She'd been telling him stories about her teacher. About how she learned magic, and how she was taught to twist that magic into something dark - twist herself into something dark. Along with her magic, the Evil Queen was born, was nurtured and molded and turned into the terrifying ruler that earned the name that brought the fear.

His father was the one who'd done that to her.

He stood as well and crossed the room to stand at the opposite side of her, not sure if it was because of the guilt of what his father had done to others after he'd left or because of something else.

He thought back to the apologies his father had given endlessly since they'd met again, of his declarations of love for his long-lost son, and his begging to bestow his forgiveness, swearing he'd change for Neal - for Baelfire. And now he wondered if any of that had been true. He'd had a near impossible time trusting his father before, and now...now he needed to think. He needed to speak with his father himself.

"I have to go," he said suddenly, and blanched at the stricken expression on Regina's face.

"Is this because I didn't tell you about him knowing about us? Because you never told me-"

"No," he said quickly, cutting her off. "This has nothing to do with you, I have to go talk to him. I have to make sense of all of this. I have to know what he wants for myself."

"But Neal…"

She trailed off when he shook his head. "I'll be back," he said simply, and then was gone, feeling too flustered to explain anything else, to even _think_ about anything else before he'd spoken to his father.

* * *

The door of the pawn shop slammed open with a bang, the bell attached protesting violently as Neal stormed inside. "Rumpelstiltskin," he yelled, looking around.

His father appeared from the back room looking irritated, but his expression softened when he caught sight of his son. Belle appeared behind him, looking back and forth between them in hesitation.

"My boy-" he started, but Neal continued in as if he hadn't said anything.

"How dare you."

"How dare…? What are you talking about?" he asked with genuine confusion. The last time he and his son had spoken, they hadn't been on the best terms, that was true, but there certainly hadn't been the animosity that was now radiating off Neal in waves.

"Regina."

Rumple leaned back, gripping his cane tightly as he realized what it was his son had come about. "Belle, would you mind giving us a few minutes?"

Belled nodded hurriedly, picking up her coat and sliding it on as she walked past Neal to the door. "I'll get us something from Granny's," she told him.

Once they were alone, Rumple moved forward slowly, coming to lean on one of the counters closer to his son. "Finally found out the truth, did you?"

"The truth?!" Neal asked incredulously. "You mean the truth about how you manipulated her and taught her to use dark magic? How you molded her into some version of yourself so she could carry out the curse that _you_ wanted her to someday cast? Or about how you saw us together and then went to her office, holding it over her head, making her feel like something would drive a wedge between us?"

Rumple looked surprised at that and shook his head. "No, the truth about who she _really_ is. The Evil Queen. I don't know what she's said to you, how she's manipulated you, but now you can free yourself from her. Now that you know the truth about who she is and what she's done."

"Because of you!" Neal yelled.

"I taught her magic yes, but becoming what she did was her choice. I don't understand, son. I thought you'd want to know who it was you were truly dealing with. You're not safe with her. You deserve better."

"I knew who I was dealing with! I know who she is! I've known since I arrived back in Storybrooke! And if you'd been truly concerned for my safety, you would have come directly to me instead of using the information to torture Regina."

Rumple stood in shock, mouth open, but unable to say anything.

"How dare you try to hurt her this way! To try to hurt us! What gives you the _right_?!"

"I'm not trying to hurt you," Rumple said, face twisting from shock to desperation at the realization that his son was once again angry with him. "I want to protect you, my boy! Not hurt you!"

"Then you would leave the woman I love alone!"

Rumple staggered back at the statement, not believing his ears. "Love?" His whispered question almost went unheard by Neal, but his son took two large steps toward him.

"Love," he said firmly. "You think I don't know who Regina is, but I know her better than you ever will. Better than anyone else ever will! I know the woman behind the Evil Queen, just as I knew she was the Evil Queen. Because she's _told_ me stories of her past. She hasn't tried to hide the things she's done from me. She was convinced I'd leave her if I knew the truth about everything she'd done during her reign, but I didn't. Because I know who she _really_ is. And that is _not_ the queen you helped to create."

Rumple made his way dazedly to a chair in the corner. "I don't understand son," he said miserably. "How can you possibly know her so well after such a short time?"

"It hasn't been such a short time, though," Neal said icily. "You abandoned me in this world long ago. I spent a lifetime in the clutches of Peter Pan before Regina and I somehow found each other in this world, neither of us knowing we'd met someone from our own. We were together almost a year before your curse managed to put an end to it. She had to come back. She had to leave me. You managed to ruin my life _again_ and you didn't even know it," Neal said, laughing bitterly. "And then the universe gave me yet another chance, and here we are again. You never were able to keep your nose out of other people's business, were you? You just have to keep picking at people's wounds, finding ways to cause misery for your own entertainment. You haven't changed and you _never will_!"

His father shook his head violently. "No, I can. I can change! I _will_ change, for you!"

"You've already proven you can't!"

"I can! You know who Regina is, you know that I was her teacher, and I'm sure she's told you all about what I've done to her, but what about the things she's done to me?!"

"The things she's done to you?!" Neal asked incredulously. "This is exactly what I'm talking about! It's always about you! You always find a way to make yourself the victim, but you're not!"

Rumple stood quickly, anger overtaking his features once more. "She locked Belle in a tower for years! Told me she'd killed herself, made me believe she was dead. And here! The whole duration of this curse, Belle - _an innocent_ \- was locked in an asylum. Tell me again how you love Regina, how you blame me for everything that's been done!"

Neal shook his head. "I'm done! I'm not going to stand here and listen to this anymore!"

"Because you fear I'm right?" Rumple asked loudly, taking steps to follow his son as he made his way to the door.

Neal didn't even glance back at him as he threw the door open.

"Son, wait! I'm sorry!" he yelled out the open door, but Neal left Rumple standing breathless outside his shop. He went back inside, slamming the door shut behind him. He stood in silence for a few seconds, trying to process everything that had just happened, but then he let out a feral scream, taking his cane to the case next to him, taking little satisfaction in the sound of the shattering glass. He continued on his path of destruction, screaming in rage and despair and wondering if he'd ever have his son back.

* * *

Regina had sat on the bed for several minutes after Neal left. With racing thoughts, she attempted to go downstairs and fix herself a snack, but with so much weighing on her, she couldn't find any appetite at all, and after staring blankly at the food in her kitchen, she made her way to the living room. She sat, legs tucked up underneath her, wondering if she and Neal would be able to weather this particular storm. She didn't think she'd been setting something so large into motion when she'd told Neal the truth about Gold. She'd known he wouldn't be happy about it, but this went beyond that.

 _Never_ had she expected for Neal to be his son. Which meant the Dark One was also her son's other biological grandfather.

She stood from the couch and poured herself a large glass of wine before sitting back down and sinking back into the dark thoughts that had begun to form since Neal made his admission.

It was no wonder Gold had taken such sick pleasure and sitting back to watch how their relationship played out. Neal was upset with her for not telling him the truth, and she couldn't blame him. And it hurt.

She took another giant swallow and heard the sound of the front door. She didn't move, didn't even turn her head. She was afraid to face what was coming now that Neal knew the truth and had gone to talk to his father.

Neal found her that way, sunk back into the couch with her feet tucked up, her knees against her chest as she cradled a glass of wine in her hands.

She looked miserable. Not quite sad, but there also was no hope left in her expression. She looked empty, and it scared him.

"Regina," he said, moving to sit next to her.

She didn't stir, but he could see that she was listening to him, so he continued.

"Regina, honey, I gave you the wrong impression when I rushed out of here earlier, and for that I am very, very sorry."

The gentle tone of his voice seemed to break her out of her thoughts a little and she turned her head enough to meet his gaze.

"I'm upset. Livid actually, but not with you," he promised. "With my father. What he did-"

"Wasn't completely unjustified," she finished.

"Of course it was! He has no right to-"

"Neal, I know you're angry, but you haven't given _me_ a chance to speak yet." She took a deep, shaky breath and set her wine glass on the coffee table. "I'm not innocent in the history between Rumplestiltskin and I. He's done terrible things, yes, but so have I."

"He told me about Belle," Neal said, surprising her, but then her expression hardened.

"Of course he did." She shook her head a bit to clear the anger. "So you have to know that I've done terrible things as well. I'm sure that he wasn't trying to hurt you when he-"

"But he did!" Neal stopped her. "Regina, I understand that you've done things in your past, but that's not you anymore! You've changed. You proved that to me in New York. And when he does things to hurt you, he hurts me, too."

She shook her head sadly, looking at him with nothing but misery. "But I've done things even since New York, Neal. Belle stayed locked away even _after_ I returned. I've _killed_ since then."

"Regina, stop trying to push me away. It's not going to happen. You _have_ changed. I've seen you working hard at it every day since I've been here."

"But why do you want to forgive me?" Regina cried. "I don't understand how you can know who I am and still love me?"

He quickly gathered her hands in his own and gave them a firm squeeze, urging her to look back up at him.

"Because you are _you_ ," he said firmly. "I love you for so many reasons, Regina, and I hate that my father has made you doubt that love simply by knowing about us."

"But how can you forgive me and not forgive _him_?" she asked in a near whisper, attempting to pull her hands from him.

"You can't compare yourself to him," Neal told her angrily. "He's had so many chances to change, and every time he had it, he wasted it. He disappointed me over and over again, hurt me, hurt others around him. And when we had our chance to escape all of it - the true test of whether he'd be willing to change for me - he abandoned me. He let go of my hand and let me fall through a portal to a strange world on my own."

Her face fell, feeling the pain for him, but then she shook her head again. "I haven't had the time to disappoint you. I still could."

"I have faith you won't. And you've already done more than he ever did to convince me that you felt real regret for the things you did."

"Not enough to want to change them," she admitted.

"No," he agreed. "But again, you had reason for that. You've told me. Henry. The only reason you wouldn't want to go back and change everything is because of the love for your son - my son - _our_ son. I couldn't possibly fault you for that. If anything, it makes me love you even more. I always thought you felt things more deeply than anyone else I'd ever known, and I know now that I wasn't wrong. That proves to me that you _do_ have the ability to change, and that you've already been using it."

She looked down, tears escaping as she continued to process everything. She of all people knew what it was like to have a parent who you wanted to love and be loved by _so badly_ , but never to have that. She knew how much it destroyed pieces of your soul to feel that disappointment, but she still couldn't quite bring herself to believe that Gold didn't deserve another chance. Since the shock had begun to wear off, she'd started making connections, and she now knew Neal had been the entire reason behind the curse. Rumple had spoken _many_ times about the curse, always about how it would help _her_ , benefit _her_ , and she'd wondered since coming here what the real reason behind all of it had been. The things he'd said since their waking up hadn't made any sense to her before, but now it did. He'd done all of it to get his son back.

He still loved Neal, fiercely, and as a mother, she couldn't understand how Rumple had ever let go of his son's hand, but she could _imagine_ the immediate regret that would have settled in, the tearing of his soul, and the fierce determination to do whatever it took to fix his mistake.

She couldn't believe she was even thinking such a thing about the man who'd been her mentor, but maybe he _did_ deserve another chance. One more. But she had no idea how to say that to someone who felt a betrayal she understood well. The betrayal of a parent in the worst way imaginable - making their child feel unloved, unwanted, unsafe and alone.

So for now, she said nothing, instead picking up her glass of wine and taking a sip, unsure of how to continue.

"Regina?" He placed a hand on her knee and started a small, comforting circular pattern as he looked at her questioningly.

"Hmm?"

"We're going to be okay."

She placed one of her hands over his and slid her fingers around to grasp it, giving him a small, but sincere smile. For the first time since he'd reappeared in her life, she actually let herself believe they would be.


End file.
